"Franconia Remembers Joe Davies"
Author: Carl Sell
Publisher: Franconia Museum, Inc. (2010)
The Franconia Museum unveiled a literary treasure for history enthusiasts with the release of "Franconia Remembers: Volume VI" in November of 2010. Joe Davies grew up in Franconia. He was a high school and college football star who married his hometown sweetheart and fathered four sons. An Air Force pilot, he was shot down in May of 1968 and was declared dead in 1973. His remains have never been recovered. This 210-page book recalls Joe's early days in Franconia, his marriage to Shirley Bunch, college and Air Force career. It includes recollections of the Davies and Bunch families from family and friends. The book is written by Carl Sell, who wrote about Joe's early sports career as a reporter for the Alexandria Gazette and The Washington Star.
Air Force Major Joseph Edwin Davies, was a son of Franconia who was lost and never recovered during a mission in the Vietnam War in 1968. As you walk in the front door of the Franconia Museum, there is a MIA-POW flag which the Museum proudly displays in honor of Major Davies.
On May 19, 1968, an F-4D Phantom II (tail number 66-8695) took off from Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, as the lead aircraft in a flight of two on a night armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. Shortly after arriving at their target area, the Phantom's wingman dropped its ordnance and proceeded to return to Ubon. The wingman air crew then saw three explosions, believed to be the ordnance dropped from the Phantom; however, the Phantom never rejoined the wingman as scheduled. The wingman's communications equipment was malfunctioning at the time and as a result the crew could not attempt to contact the Phantom's crew following the explosions. The wingman flew back to Ubon but the Phantom was not seen again. One of the crew members' remains were recovered following the war, but the other crew member is still unaccounted for.
Captain (Capt) Joseph Edwin Davies entered the U.S. Air Force from Virginia and was a member of the 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron. He was the pilot of this Phantom when it went missing, and was lost with the aircraft. Subsequent to the incident, and while carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Air Force promoted Capt Davies to the rank of Major (Maj). Today, Major Davies is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.
THIS ITEM CAN ALSO BE PURCHASED AT A DISCOUNT BY VISITING THE FRANCONIA MUSEUM IN-PERSON AT 6121 FRANCONIA ROAD.