Representing the 13th Bomb Squadron Association, Retired Col. Ron Silvia of Westport, Mass., shakes hands with Norman Davis of Peterborough at a funeral in Ashby, Mass., Saturday for Peterborough WWII airman Roy Davis, who went missing in action in 1944. Silvia, who was a member of the same bomb squadron as Davis, but from the Vietnam War era, attended to represent his association.
Representing the 13th Bomb Squadron Association, Retired Col. Ron Silvia of Westport, Mass., shakes hands with Norman Davis of Peterborough at a funeral in Ashby, Mass., Saturday for Peterborough WWII airman Roy Davis, who went missing in action in 1944. Silvia, who was a member of the same bomb squadron as Davis, but from the Vietnam War era, attended to represent his association. Credit: Staff photo by Meghan Pierce

Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Roy F. Davis of Peterborough, who went missing in action at the age of 26 during World War II, was finally laid to rest in the family plot in Ashby, Mass., Saturday morning.

“In March of 1944, the family of Roy F. Davis received that telegram, so dreaded by families across this land; ‘We regret to inform you that your son is missing in action and presumed dead.’ Roy like so many others, gave his life for this country,” said Ken Johnson, Ashby Congregational Church pastor and Ashby Fire Department chaplain, during the service at Glen Wood Cemetery in Ashby, Mass., Saturday.

Davis was a member of the 13th Bombardment Squadron of the 3rd Bombardment Group. On March 12, 1944, he was one of two crew members aboard an A-20G Havoc bomber out on a mission, but the bomber never returned to base in northeastern New Guinea.

Roy Davis was born in Ashby, Mass., in 1918 to Chester and Gertrude Davis. He was the oldest of five sons and grew up in several New Hampshire towns, but always considered Peterborough his hometown, according to his family.

Efforts to find Roy Davis and the aircraft both during and after the war were unsuccessful. The War Department finally declared Davis, as well the other crewmember, 2nd Lt. Vernal J. Bird, deceased on June 30, 1949. Their remains were listed as non-recoverable.

However, in 2001 a team from the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory found a crash site in a remote area of Papua, New Guinea. After several years of excavating the site and conducting DNA tests on the remains found, Davis’ remains were identified and eventually returned home.

“Now, 74 years later we gather to honor him and to return him to the land of his birth. Finally there is closure for his remaining family and friends, finally the lost has been found. We, standing here today, are the beneficiaries of Roy’s sacrifice. Let us never forget what he gave for us and never let us forget those who are still missing,” Johnson said.

Roy Davis is survived by his three brothers Norman Davis of Peterborough, Gerald Davis of Epsom and Kenneth Davis of Hancock.

After the graveside service Saturday, Davis was buried in the the family plot where his mother and father are buried and where his headstone and empty grave has been all these long years.