Ship Christening and Launch of the George E. Davis DE357

Picture 1: Jane Hine Davis portrait with flowers. 
Picture 2: Champagne bottle smashes on bow.
Picture 3: Jane Hine Davis, widow of George E. Davis, watches as ship launches.
Picture 4:Ship launches.

We are especially fortunate to have the Davis Collection photos and information. Besides being from the namesake family, George E. Davis, it is likely that nobody else has this information! The gratitude of all the shipmates of the USS George E. Davis DE357 goes to the surviving family of George Elliott Davis Jr.
 

Navy Day – October 27
A Bygone Celebration

Navy Day was established on October 27, 1922 by the Navy League of the United States. Although it was not a national holiday, Navy Day received special attention from President Warren Harding. Harding wrote to then-Secretary Denby:

“Thank you for your note which brings assurance of the notable success which seems certain to attend the celebration of Navy Day on Friday, October 27, in commemoration of past and present services of the Navy. From our earliest national beginnings the Navy has always been, and deserved to be, an object of special pride to the American people. Its record is indeed one to inspire such sentiments, and I am very sure that such a commemoration as is planned will be a timely reminder.”

“It is well for us to have in mind that under a program of lessening naval armaments there is a greater reason for maintaining the highest efficiency, fitness and morale in this branch of the national defensive service. I know how earnestly the Navy personnel are devoted to this idea and want you to be assured of my hearty concurrence.”

October 27 was suggested by the Navy League to recognize Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday. Roosevelt had been an Assistant Secretary of the Navy and supported a strong Navy as well as the idea of Navy Day. In addition, October 27 was the anniversary of a 1775 report issued by a special committee of the Continental Congress favoring the purchase of merchant ships as the foundation of an American Navy.

Navy Day was last observed on Oct. 27, 1949. However, it has still been observed, unofficially on and around this date since by various naval entities.

Navy Day 27 October 1945

For the George E. Davis DE-357, Navy Day 1945 was celebrated in Manila, Philippines, which was only shortly after the close of WWII.  Once again, as in President Harding’s time, it was time for a lessening of arms, although for the Davis, she would still be awhile serving her country before being mothballed for the next time she was needed. Below, see the program. 
 

     The United States Navy In Orange, Texas

The United States Navy has long been associated with Orange, TX. In 1940, the Navy initiated what was to become a massive WWII shipbuilding program. This required the construction of a number of new shipyards.

One of the locations selected for the new facilities was Orange, Texas. At the time, the Consolidated Western Steel Corp. was operating a small steel fabricating plant at the east end of Front Avenue. The Navy and Consolidated entered into a contract under which the Bureau of Ships would construct a shipyard adjacent to the existing CWS plant with Consolidated as the operator. It formed a subsidiary titled Consolidated Western Steel Corp., Shipbuilding Division, for that purpose. A combine known as Bechtel-McCone-Parsons was given a contract to build the facilities and construction began that year. The first unit of the yard was completed in 1941and Consolidated immediately began work on the first ships.

The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and the declaration of War by the United States upon Japan, Germany, and Italy greatly accelerated the pace of the Navy shipbuilding program. The yards at Orange were enlarged and employment there began climbing toward a peak of 20,000 workers. The first ship, USS Aulick, a Destroyer, was delivered in 1942. In all, the shipyards at Orange built 39 Destroyers, 93 Destroyer Escorts, and 106 landing craft, prior to the termination of the shipbuilding program in 1946.

With the war almost over, the Navy chose Orange as the location of a major post-war fleet berthing operation. This required the construction of a number of piers on the Sabine River, just north of the shipyards. This activity was known first as the Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet. In 1960, the name was changed to Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility. At the peak, about 250 mothballed vessels were stationed here. Forty of the ships were reactiviated during the Korean conflict. During the 1950’s part of the original shipyard facilities were sold to U.S. Steel Corporation, American Bridge Division, now known as U.S. Steel-Fabrication.

In 1974, the Navy began phasing out the fleet berthing operation. By the latter part of that decade, all the ships were gone. Some were sold to foreign countries, some scraped, and the remainder are berthed at the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX. Of the remaining facilities, some were acquired by U.S. Steel, others turned over to Lamar University at Orange, and the remaining piers and adjacent land were sold to the Orange County Navigation and Port District. The 16.5 acres that remain in the Navy’s hands are the site of the present Orange Naval Reserve Center.

On behalf of the extended family of George E. Davis, Jr., I wish to express our delight at having a website devoted to the USS George E. Davis. George was my uncle, though I never knew him. I did know his parents, George and Grace, who were loving grandparents. As of this writing, (January 2003) George’s brother, my father, John Edward Davis, and the former Jane Hine Davis, George’s widow (who later remarried) are both still living. Jane recently had a memorial brick placed at the new D-Day Museum in George’s honor. The memory of my uncle, and the sacrifice he made for his country, are still revered in my family. I know that my grandparents, my father and my Aunt Jane were very proud of the USS George E. Davis. Her distinguished service for the U.S. Navy was a source of great comfort to them. The photos and other material which I have provided to this website were handed down to me. I am delighted to have them preserved for all who have an interest in DE 357, the USS George E. Davis.

-Robert H. Davis