Lyle Victor “Lefty” Davis was born on January 20, 1923, in New York. He was the son of Lyle Berry Davis and Ethel L Davis.

Lyle Victor resided in Erie County, New York prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army on January 12, 1943, in Buffalo, New York. He was noted as being employed in the mechanical treatment of metals and also as Single, without dependents.

During World War II, he served in the 860th Bomber Squadron, 493rd Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Flight Officer and Co-Pilot on the B-17 #43-38319. On September 12, 1944, he was killed during a mission to Magdeburg, Germany. They received a direct hit from flak on the left wing, which caught on fire. They immediately fell into a spin and exploded at 18,000 feet. They crashed near Pechau, southeast of Magdeburg, Germany. Eight men on the crew were killed. Only the navigator, F/O Victor Bennett, survived but was taken as a prisoner.

F/O Davis is now buried in the Rose Hills Memorial Park, Whittier, Los Angeles County, California, USA.

B-17 43-38319 crew:
Pilot: Edwon Bisaro
Co-pilot: Lyle Davis
Bombardier: Harold Winans
Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Ken Rosiere
Radio Operator: Glenn Anderson
Ball turret gunner: Marshel Armstrong
Waist gunner: John Butler
Tail gunner: Irving Shub

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.americanairmuseum.com, honorstates.org