Burnill Charles Davis

Captain Burnill Charles Davis enlisted into the US Army Air Corps in 1939 after leaving the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He entered the service at Randolph Field after qualifying as a flying cadet along with 51 other applicants. Davis completed his flight training at Kelly Field, Texas, and was assigned to the 397th Bombardment Squadron of the 6th Bombardment Group, stationed at Rio Hato Army Air Base, Panama. Captain Davis was a pilot for USAAF bombers. On July 24, 1942, Captain Burnill Davis was piloting his Northrop A-17 s/n 35-131 when he suffered an engine failure. He was forced to put the A-17 down approximately 2 miles west of Boquette, Panama. Sadly, Captain Davis was killed in the crash. He was initially interred at the Corozal American Cemetery in Panama but was disinterred in 1948 and now rests at Plymouth Cemetery in Hanover, Wisconsin. His brother, Ensign Frederick Curtice Davis, was also a UW-Madison Student and was killed at Pearl Harbor only seven months before Burnill C. Davis died.