Lubbock veterans launch campaign to recover local American hero’s remains

LUBBOCK, Texas – On September 20th, as the nation honors Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Day, the Lubbock Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) initiated a campaign with a singular mission: to bring home Lieutenant Colonel George A. Davis, a West Texas war hero whose remains have been inaccessible for more than 70 years.

Lt. Col. Davis, credited with 14 victories in the Korean War, was shot down near the Yalu River in North Korea. Despite confirmation that his remains were recovered by Chinese forces, they have not been returned and are believed to be held in a museum as a war trophy.

“We want to bring him home,” said Sarah Weede, Commander of VFW Post 2466 in Lubbock. “It should make you angry, it should make you sad to know that we have a war hero on display in a museum.”

Davis was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor, and was promoted to Lt. Colonel after his death. He is one of only seven U.S. pilots to achieve ace status in two different wars.

For decades, the Davis family has struggled with not being able to properly lay their loved ones to rest.

“It’s been 72 years, and his son is still alive and has not seen his father come back home,” Weede said.

Norm Bearden, the onsite representative for the West Texas Veterans Cemetery, has a space reserved for Davis as the cemetery’s first interment. “When we do open the veteran’s cemetery, we plan to have Colonel Davis as our very first interment,” Bearden said.

Efforts to bring Davis home have gained new momentum thanks to the involvement of Ed Sykes, a veteran pilot who successfully recovered the remains of a fellow service member after nearly a decade of effort.

“We feel it is absolutely critical that we bring Davis back to U.S. soil,” Bearden added.

Sykes, who will return to Lubbock in April to share his experiences with local veterans’ groups, is hopeful that teamwork can help give this Lubbock native the homecoming he deserves.

“We need to get him back, and we need to get him back soon,” said Weede.

The VFW is calling on the public to support their effort to restore dignity to Davis’s family by signing a petition at returnourhero.org .

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