Julia F. Davis

Kingsland

Julia F. Davis, age 83 passed away Friday, December 12, 2014 at Senior Care Center in St. Mary's. Julie was born in London, England on October 14, 1931.

When the Second World War bombing started in London, Julia was living in downtown London. During the time of the blitz on London, Julie and her sister, Pat were evacuated by train to small villages outside of London. They were split up and sent to two different family locations. They stayed approximately 3 months until the blitz was over and returned to London. While they were out of London, their father constructed a six person bomb shelter in their back yard. As the bombing was still going on with the addition of the V1 and V2 rockets, they spent most of their time in the new back yard air raid shelter. All in her family escaped injury from the bombing.

Toward the end of the war, Julie volunteered to work in the farmers' fields around London in what was known as the "Land Army". This was a dawn to dusk farm work of young girls' to help supply food for the city of London.

While working in the fields shortly after the war, Julie met a young American Air Force Sgt. that later would become her husband. He had been a tall gunner on a B-17 bomber for the Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. When the war was over, he enlisted into the American Air Force to receive his citizenship in the United States. He was stationed at RAF Upper Heyford until rotating back to the United States. She came to the states by way of a Second World War sea transport troopship known as the General Rose. She processed through Staten Island when she arrived in the United States as she was still a UK citizen. Her first experience in the United States was to live on a military installation where she became a citizen if the United States.

I met Julie when she was working at the NCO club at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. She was still married to her husband who was then stationed overseas and she was working part-time for the American Red Cross as a volunteer. She was part of an all-volunteer team that met all C-141 aircraft returning from Vietnam with badly wounded GI's. Scott Air Force Base has a large hospital and was a distribution point to further fly these badly wounded GI's to other hospitals across the United States. At that particular time, it was a very busy time for volunteers as they had to meet every arriving aircraft full of wounded GI's who had only the day before been in Vietnam combat.

After her husband retired from the Air Force, he sadly died leaving her with two grown children.

When Julie and I were married, we returned back to Europe and spent many happy years there until I also retired. Both of us wanted to continue our volunteer work and we became first responders for the American Red Cross. Our primary assignments was to work hurricanes as first ones on the scene delivering hot food to survivors from the storm. We worked for the American Red Cross for approximately 3 years until Julie's Parkinson's became more than she could handle working 12 hours a day.

Because of Julie's Parkinson's condition, we had to leave our mountain jome in Hiawassee, Georgia to flatland in South Georgia next to a military installation. Choosing Camden County was no accident. Our son, a retired ex-submariner recommended that we try looking at the St. Mary's community. We did and liked it. As we were very active as volunteers in the Hiawassee VFW we started looking for a VFW here in Camden County. Both of us are life members of the VFW. As our age has put our volunteer activities on a slower pace and Julie currently is a full time resident of the Camden County Senior Citizens Center we consider ourselves retired.

Services will be held at a later date.

Low Country Cremation Services and Burial is serving the Davis family.