JAMES MORGAN DAVENPORT JR.
MERCHANT WHO SURVIVED RAID ON PEARL HARBOR DIES AT 84
From "The Tulsa World," Tuesday, October 26, 2004, Section A, Page 13
MUSKOGEE -- James Morgan Davenport Jr., a survivor of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday. He was 84.
A celebration of his life will begin at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Wesley United Methodist Church. Interment will follow at Fort Gibson National Cemetery in Fort Gibson, under the direction of Foster-Petering Funeral Home.
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.
Davenport is survived by his wife, Dorthy; one daughter, Mary Dorough of Starkville, Miss.; one son, James Patrick Davenport of Stillwater; and 10 grandchildren.
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