Clifton Davis
Davis
Clifton
OH
World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
Navy; Air Force
Naval Construction Battalion (Seabees)
Seaman First Class
Aleutian Islands (Alaska); also: England
Unknown
Veteran
"The weather was atrocious." (Audio interview, 25:28)
For Seaman First Class Clifton Davis, working with the 68th Naval Construction Battalion, the weather in the Aleutians was not only physically uncomfortable and potentially life-threatening--it also complicated the Seabees' construction efforts. In his interview, he discusses dealing with the swampy terrain on Attu, as well as huge storms known as "williwaws," which he describes as "a blizzard multiplied by ten." The 138 original photographs in his collection depict the snowy conditions and mountainous terrain on Attu, as well as his comrades goofing for the camera.
Clifton Davis sitting on a bunk, writing. [11/1944]
Aleutian Islands: WWII’s Unknown Campaign
Two unidentified men lounging on a hillside
Two unidentified men standing in front of a military vehicle
Clifton Davis sitting on a bunk, writing. Title on photo: "Me - Nov. 1944."
11/1944
Unidentified man standing in front of a tent
Unidentified man standing behind a military vehicle, a quonset hut in background. Title on photo: "Lupo."
Unidentified man with a drawn sidearm
Unidentified men and military vehicles
Two unidentified men with pickaxe and shovel, digging a hole
Two unidentified men leaning against a military vehicle
Unidentified man standing on Marsden matting at an airfield, probably in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Two unidentified men standing alongside a U.S. Navy vehicle
Unidentified sailor posing with his sidearm drawn, a quonset hut in background
Two unidentified men aboard an earth-moving tractor
Unidentified men aboard a truck
Unidentified man standing alongside a Jeep Woody
Man identified in photo title as George Frasier standing in front of a military vehicle
Unidentified sailor
Unidentified man standing against an embankment
Title from photo: "Me with a T.S.". Clifton Davis posing with a Thompson Sub-Machine Gun.
Unidentified man with a rifle and fixed bayonet running down a hill
Title from photo: "Composano: Myself". Clifton Davis [left] posing with a buddy
Title from photo: "Borg". Man with cigarette posing against a backdrop of snowy hills
Title from photo: "Cinburri". Man coming over the top of a hill
Unidentified man in uniform against a backdrop of snowy hills
Title from photo: "Crocker and his T.S.". Man aiming a Thompson Submachine Gun
Title from photo: "Cudello". Man standing in front of tent
Title from photo: "Colligan."
Title from photo: "Red Hayes." Man leaning against construction vehicle
Title from photo: "Brown, Burns, Brunneman, Hoover, Culuk, Decker, Downs, Reed, Erickson, Steves, Ferland."
Unidentified man standing in doorway, holding a rifle
Unidentified man holding a Thompson Submachine Gun
Unidentified man leaning against a wall
Title from photo: "Courtright". Man holding Thompson Submachine Gun, standing in front of a quonset
Unidentified man in front of a tent
Unidentified man behind operating a construction vehicle
Title from photo: "Crocker and Cunningham."
Title from photo: "Coon, DeAlbera, Ireland-138 CB's."
Unidentified man goofing for the camera
Title from photo: "Forbes and Montley."
Unidentified man standing in front of a military vehicle
Unidentified man working outside a tent
Title from photo: "Downs (Pappy) dock truck."
Title from photo: "Crocker and his Thompson sub."
Unidentified man saluting
Unidentified man in a snowy military encampment
Unidentified man walking on a wooden walkway in a military encampment
Two unidentified men standing outside a snow-covered tent
Unidentified woman and two men in a snowy military encampment
Unidentified man
Title from photo: "Decker and the B.A.R."
Title from photo: "King". Man standing on the driver's side running board of a truck
Title from photo: " "Decker, Cook, Hatton." Three men with their arms on each others' shoulders, standing outside a quonset
Unidentified man sitting on an anti-aircraft artillery piece in a snowy field, a quonset in the background
Two unidentified men sitting on an anti-aircraft artillery piece, a quonset and mountain in the background
Clifton Davis [right, with pick axe] and an unidentified man, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Unidentified sailor leaning against the driver's side door of a Jeep Woody
Unidentified man standing on a wooden plank walkway in a military encampment
Unidentified woman in a military encampment
Unidentified man standing in front of the propeller engine of an airplane
Title from photo: "Grenier". Photo of several unidentified people
Unidentified landscape, probably in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Group photo of unidentified people, quonsets in the background
Group photo of unidentified people outside a quonset hut
Photo of an unidentified person and a dog in snow, a quonset and tents in the background
Three unidentified people in a military encampment, quonset and tents in background
Three unidentidied people on a snowy military base, quonset and tents in background
Unidentified people with a dog, a quonset and tents in the background
Group photo of unidentified people and passersby, a quonset and tents in background
Photo of unidentified woman and man with military tents in background
Photo of unidentified building and landscape
Photo of unidentified landscape, with a sign reading "Little Falls Cemetery", Attu, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Photo of an unidentified landscape
Title from photo, "Attu, Alaska"
Photo of an unidentified landscape
Photo of an unidentified landscape
Photo of an unidentified landscape
Photo of a road and an unidentified landscape
Sign welcoming visitors to Alexei Point, Attu, Aleutian Islands, "The home of the Army's northwestern-most airfield".
Photo of an unidentified landscape
Airplanes from a distance, parked on a snowy runway
Photo of an unidentified landscape
Title from photo, "Attu, Alaska". Photo depicts a snowy, mountainous landscape in the Aleutian Islands.
View of land across the water of a bay
View of a snowy peak
Photo of a military vehicle diagnoal in a snowy road that runs along a rocky shore
Photo of an unidentified structure on a snowy hill
Photo of men manning an anti-aircraft gun along the shore of a bay
Photo of an unidentified structure along a snowy road
Photo of a snow-covered quonset
View of an unidentified structure across a rocky, snowy plain
Photo of a rocky shore along a bay, with gulls in flight and on the water
Photo of a military vehicle on a snow-covered road
View of an unidentified landscape
View of an unidentified landscape
Photo of an unidentified structure in a snowy cleft, at the top of a road
Photo of a sign advising visitors to "hurry back" upon leaving Alexei Point, Attu, Aleutian Islands
View of an unidentified landscape
View of an unidentified shoreline from high above, with several unknown structures on the beach below
View of a snow-covered road
View of a rocky shore along the edge of a bay
View of an unidentified landscape
View of an unidentified landscape
View of a snow-covered road in an unidentified landscape
View of an unidentified landscape
View of an unidentified landscape
View of an unidentified landscape with a quonset at right edge of frame
View of an unidentified landscape
View of a snowy road through an unidentified landscape
Clifton Davis [at right with pick axe] and a buddy digging a hole
View of an unidentified landscape
Title from photo: "Clifton Davis, Walt Dodgers."
Military portrait of Clifton Davis
Portrait of unidentified sailor. Handwriting on photo reads "Your Buddy Phil".
Photo of an unidentified man on skis in the snow
Photo of an unidentified man on skis in the snow
Photo of two unidentified men. Caption on photo reads: "Attu, Alaska, 1943 Captured Jap Pictures"
Photo of three unidentified men
Photo of three unidentified men. Blurred caption on photo reads: "Attu, Alaska, 1943 Captured Jap Pictures"
Photo of several unidentified men in a military encampment. Blurred caption on photo reads: "Attu, Alaska, 1943 Captured Jap Pictures"
Photo of two unidentified men in the snow
Photo of three unidentified men, probably Japanese soldiers, in a tent or barracks
Photo of several unidentified men standing in the snow. Blurred caption on photo reads: "Attu, Alaska, 1943 Captured Jap Pictures"
Photo of several sea planes and men standing on a beach
Photo of two unidentified people, one of them a Japanese soldier
Photo of a sign commemorating the spot where a Japanese Commander, Colonel Yasuyo Yamasaki, died during a banzai charge while assaulting Engineer Hill, Attu, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Photo of grave markers in a Japanese military cemetery
Photo of an abandoned or destroyed anti-aircraft emplacement
Photo of an abandoned bunker
Photo of entrenchments along Holtz Bay, Attu, Aleutian Islands
Photo of a military skiff pulled up on dry land
Photo of unidentified American sailors with an anti-aircraft gun, a quonset in background
8x10 photo of an unidentified landscape
8x10 photo of an unidentified landscape
8x10 photo of an unidentified landscape
8x10 photo of an unidentified landscape
8x10 photo of an unidentified landscape
5x7 b/w photo of a road through an unidentified landscape
Contemporary photo of Davis taken by Senator Richard Lugar's staff
Handdrawn map of the island of Attu, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Handdrawn map of the island of Attu, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
History of the 68th Naval Construction Battalion
History of the 68th Naval Construction Battalion
Typewritten "Extraction of Diary"
Typewritten "Extraction of Diary"
Arrival in the Aleutians; work building pier; makeup of construction crew.
Very little training prior to arrival; did not carry weapons; construction work; learning to run a caterpillar tractor and a bulldozer.
Horrible weather conditions; high winds; incident in which truck cab filled up with snow.
Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.01203/
DLC-AFC
2023-06-02
loc.natlib.afc2001001.01203