A class act: '44 grads served well

Most of the men from the Woodrow Wilson Class of '44 served in World War II.
By LEONARD CRIST
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- On June 6, 1944 -- D-Day -- the Allied invasion of France began. Howard Friend and Vern Davison graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School that same day.
A week later, Friend, who goes by "Howdy," was drafted into the Army. He had wanted to join the Navy.
"If you signed up early, oftentimes you could get the branch that you wanted," Friend said. "But if you were drafted, that was a little different story. You went where they told you to go."
Friend received 17 weeks of training as a machine gunner and was sent to Europe.
Davison, Woodrow Wilson's senior class president, had enlisted in the Naval Air Corps in February 1944 but was allowed to finish high school before he began basic training.
Davison, who goes by "Murph," wanted to be a fighter pilot, but the training program closed before he got to flight school. Instead, he served as a deck officer in the Pacific on a troop transport.
Davison lives in Poland and owns his own paving equipment company.
Friend, 78, lives in Boardman, a retired schoolteacher and administrator. Their 60th high school reunion is June 19.
Many who served
Of the 102 young men who graduated from Woodrow Wilson in 1944, all but six of them served in World War II, Davison said.
Though he's not sure, he can't recall a single casualty among his 96 classmates who served. He attributes this good fortune to the fact that they were the youngest guys in the war. "By the time they got there, the war was over," he said.
During the war, Davison saw no combat. "I was fortunate I didn't have to face what Howdy faced," he said.
Friend had arrived in Europe in November 1944. By December, he was on the front lines in Germany as part of the 90th Infantry division.
Soon his division followed Gen. George Patton through Luxembourg toward Bastogne, Belgium.
It was the Battle of the Bulge, the last major offensive by Nazi Germany in the war.
Shrapnel wound
"I had just got to the edge of Bastogne when I was wounded by shrapnel from a shell," Friend said. The shrapnel had cut through Friend's thigh and knee.
By the end of the six-week battle, 81,000 Americans and 110,000 Germans were killed, wounded or captured.
Friend spent 18 months recuperating in a hospital. He was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge and the Bronze Star for Meritorious Action.
"I'm proud as heck of what we did," Friend said. "It was worth every bit of it."
Graduates of Woodrow Wilson High School's Class of 1944 wishing to attend the 60-year reunion June 19 should call Adeline Adornato Duncko for reservations at (330) 757-3079.
lcrist@vindy.com