Davis appreciates warm welcome at reunion
I want to thank you and, through you, all the 99'ers who so warmly accepted me into your group as representative of my father, Lt. Col. Benjamin R. Davis, 1st Bn., 395th Inf. Reg.
You went out of your way to accommodate me and make me feel at home — and helped me considerably to find some of the men with whom my dad had served — I sincerely appreciate your efforts.
I am so proud of all the 99'ers who served so unselfishly back 58 years ago in those terrible winter conditions without a thought as to their sacrifices — only that they had a job to do. I consider each and every one of you heroes and you are living legends for all of us to follow — you are all truly members of the "Greatest Generation!"
Enclosed is my check to the 99th Infantry Division Association in the amount of $350 for the autographed baseball that you auctioned off Saturday night. I could think of no better place for this special memento than in the 99th Infantry Division museum. Thank you for recognizing the donation, but you surprised me. I didn't want to make a big deal of it and was not prepared to make a speech — I just felt it belonged in the museum to honor all 99'ers.
I came away from the reunion somewhat humbled and even more resolved in my appreciation of the dedication, sacrifices, and accomplishments of you men of the 99th Infantry Division. The reunion was classy and revealed the extreme amount of work that was put in to accomplish a very successful event. Thank you for all you and the others did to put on that event. I was particularly impressed with both the Friday night entertainment — that helped renew my faith in the young people of our country and with General Kennedy's speech — a real powerful and warming evening.
Finding several men from my dad's unit certainly was my goal and pleasure to have accomplished.
Thank you for accepting me in memory of my father and I am looking forward to returning next year to be with the 99'ers again.
Bob Davis
9668 Deer Run Dr.
Ponte Vedra Beach FL 32082
Editor's Note: The autographed baseball Davis refers to was donated by Pittsburgh Pirates and autographed by Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski. A silent auction was held and Davis posted the high bid of $350. As he said, the ball was donated to the 99th museum. Proceeds from the auction went to the 99th, also.
