James Morgan Davenport Jr., a survivor of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday. He was 84. Davenport was born in Muskogee to James Morgan and Clara Belle Davenport. He grew up in Thackerville and graduated from Sand Springs High School. He enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard in 1936. He joined the Army Air Corps on June 6, 1939, and two months later he was assigned to the Pursuit Squadron at Wheeler Field in Hawaii. Davenport was wounded during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, but he returned to duty after two months in a hospital. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Forces on March 3, 1942, and he married Dorthy Elaine Blackwood on Dec. 3 of that year. Davenport served more than 40 years in the Air Corps, Air Force and U.S. Air Force Reserve, retiring with the rank of captain. He owned and operated The Arena Western Shop and enjoyed making all kinds of equipment for horses. He was an expert horseman who enjoyed trail rides. Davenport was a charter member of the Wesley United Methodist Church and a member of Chapter 617 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart in Muskogee.
James Morgan Davenport Jr., a survivor of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday. He was 84. Davenport was born in Muskogee to James Morgan and Clara Belle Davenport. He grew up in Thackerville and graduated from Sand Springs High School. He enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard in 1936. He joined the Army Air Corps on June 6, 1939, and two months later he was assigned to the Pursuit Squadron at Wheeler Field in Hawaii. Davenport was wounded during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, but he returned to duty after two months in a hospital. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Forces on March 3, 1942, and he married Dorthy Elaine Blackwood on Dec. 3 of that year. Davenport served more than 40 years in the Air Corps, Air Force and U.S. Air Force Reserve, retiring with the rank of captain. He owned and operated The Arena Western Shop and enjoyed making all kinds of equipment for horses. He was an expert horseman who enjoyed trail rides. Davenport was a charter member of the Wesley United Methodist Church and a member of Chapter 617 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart in Muskogee.
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US Air Force - World War II, Korea, Vietnam
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