Davison, Alden

Born July 6, 1895, in New York City. Son of Henry J. and Maria Alden Davison. Educated Phillips Academy, Andover, and Yale University, Class of 1919. Joined American Field Service, February 28, 19116; attached Section Eight until September 6, 1916. Sent to America ill with typhoid fever. September 4, 1917, entered U. S. Aviation Service. Cadet, 27th Aero Squadron, Camp Hicks, Texas. Killed December 26, 1917, in aeroplane accident. Buried Kensico Cemetery, New York.

AMONG all those "immortal dead who live again in minds made better by their presence; live in pulses stirred to generosity, in deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn for miserable aims that end with self," there is none more worthy of such place and tribute than Alden Davison.

The background for his war experiences speaks eloquently of the type of man he was. In his four years at Phillips Academy, Andover, he participated in all phases of school activities, contributing to each the force of his fine idealism and the power of his personality. He was interested in football, track athletics, hockey, and soccer; he was a member of the Student Council, the Dramatic Club, the Debating Union: he was President of Forum and of Inquiry, and President of his class. As a final acknowledgment of his influence, he was given the second largest number of votes for the man "who has done the most for the school."

The Phillips Academy memorial volume does him this honor: "Alden Davison was one of those rare and magnetic souls who secure without effort the affection of all who meet them. Few young men of his day were more versatile and adaptable. The ability which won him his many distinctions was, of course, admired; but it was more especially his fine and upright character that made him a leader. He could be trusted always to cast his influence where it would count for good, and there was no worthy cause which did not have his support."

In 1916 he enlisted in the American Field Service, and during his six months service with Section Eight, in the Verdun Sector, he was cited three times for bravery, and once he suffered the distinction of having his ambulance blown out from under him.

At the expiration of his enlistment he was obliged to return to the United States, being taken seriously ill with typhoid fever. It was a grievous disappointment to him, as he was eager to enlist in the Lafayette Esquadrille. In the autumn of 1917 he had recovered sufficiently to enter the aviation service, and was sent to Camp Hicks, Texas, for his training, in the 27th Aero Squadron. There, on December 26th, the day before he received his commission as Lieutenant, he was killed in a practice flight.

The instructor of his squadron wrote: "--- I would cheerfully give half of my life if he were here safely tonight. He is the nearest to one of God's children I ever knew, and is mourned most deeply here, for every one was so fond of him. He was a man's man, and nothing can be said higher in praise than that."

"Resolute, clear-eyed, high-minded," to quote the Phillips Academy volume further, "he made his ideals the guiding principles of his life. For him duty was something more than a mere word, and loyalty was naught unless it was revealed in sacrifice."

Upon his death, the Board of Directors of the Rail Joint Company, with which he had been associated in business, had engraved and bound in morocco, a very beautiful memorial volume to him, whose preface was as follows: "Resolved, that the Board of Directors desires to express its deep regret at the loss of Alden Davison, who, in the service of this Company showed the same high spirit which prompted his ready and unselfish response to the call of his Country."

In work and play, war and peace, Alden Davison inspired the love and devotion of all with whom he was associated. Brief though his career, it represented years crowded with high purpose and accomplishment. Truly indeed,

"He went through life sowing love and kindness, and what he sowed he has abundantly reaped."

• Tribute from Memorial Volume of the American Field Service, 1921