After nearly 40 years, a World War II veteran who was nearly forgotten has finally been given the farewell he deserved. Army Air Corps veteran Burton Irwin Davis died in 1987, leaving behind a legacy and ashes that would remain hidden for decades.
After Davis’ daughter-in-law passed away last year, her caretaker discovered something unexpected tucked away in a hope chest: Davis’ military uniform, his helmet, his dog tags — and his ashes.
“I hadn’t really thought about it too much, until this, and then I thought, ‘You know? Really, he did need to be honorably interred. It was meant to be,'” said Linda Boyer.
Boyer found Davis’ ashes and took them to American Legion Post 50 in Paso Robles, setting in motion a journey to bring Burton home.
“There was no provision for the man; there was no mention of him… anything,” said Sons of the American Legion Post 50 Commander Joe Gabele. “She [Linda] had the wisdom to bring him to us and ask what could be done, and we were honored to accept. Now this is what it’s culminated in, after a year and a half, is the ability to lay him to rest with the honors due him.”
Born in 1922, Burton Irwin Davis served his country as a corporal draftsman in the Army Air Forces from 1942 to 1946.
“A big portion of that was also in Greenland, and he was part of Operation Bluie West [One], and that was the responsibility for taking care of the aircraft being ferried over to Europe,” Gabele said.
But on this day, Davis’ final journey wasn’t made alone.
American flags lined the outside of the Paso Robles Veterans Memorial Building as the WWII veteran was carried to a WWII vehicle and escorted in a procession to the cemetery.
Sidewalks were lined with schoolchildren, cheering and waving American flags as their war hero passed them by.
At the cemetery, firefighters raised a massive American flag above the motorcade, a powerful welcome for a soldier whose final homecoming had been nearly four decades in the making.
“I never, ever expected anything like this at all,” Boyer said. “This was spectacular, and these veterans are amazing.”
A folded flag.
A three-volley salute.
And finally, taps.
After nearly 40 years, Burton Irwin Davis was no longer waiting to be laid to rest.
He was home.
“He is our comrade, he is our brother in arms, and this is literally the least we could do for him,” said American Legion Post 50 member Salvador Cota.
As Davis receives a final resting place, his story reminds us that no veteran should ever be forgotten and that sometimes, even after all these years, it’s never too late to bring a soldier home.
