World Affairs | Lemuria

Dwight F. Davis: Tennis pro, WWI veteran, War Secretary & US Gov. Gen. of the Philippines

Dwight F. Davis, Sr. (July 5, 1879 – November 28, 1945) was born in St. Louis, Missouri on July 5, 1879, a Baptist, married with four children, Harvard graduate, lawyer, athlete, decorated for heroism during World War I. A tennis player and politician, he is best remembered as the founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition. He was the Assistant Secretary of War from 1923 to 1925 and Secretary of War from 1925 to 1929 before becoming the *Governor General of the Philippines from 1929 to 1932.

Davis conducted one of the most extensive reconstructions of Malacañang Palace, essentially transforming it from a wooden Spanish-era colonial house, to a 1930s era large concrete mansion.

Davis graduated from the officer training program at Plattsburg, New York, and went on to serve in the American Expeditionary Force in France with the 35th Division of the 138th Infantry Regiment, in the final phase of the First World War. He served alongside a future US President, then “an obscure artillery battery commander by the name of Captain Harry S Truman”. The final months of the war saw over one million Americans take part in the series of Allied attacks, known as the Hundred Days Offensive. Part of this, last 47 days of the war, was the Meuse-Argonne Offensive (sometimes called the Battle of Argonne Forest), where Lieutenant Colonel Dwight Davis earned both a Distinguished Service Cross and a Silver Star Citation for “extraordinary heroism in action”.

Below are series of photos from a U.S. Passport (No. 26859) issued to Felicula F. Reyes, a citizen of the Philippine Islands. The U.S. passport was signed by Dwight F Davis, U.S. Governor-General of the Philippines from July 8, 1929 to January 9, 1932. Dwight Davis was a professional tennis player and politician. He is best remembered as the founder of the Davis Cup International Tennis Competition. At this time, the Philippines was a U.S. territory just like Guam and Puerto Rico are to this day.

Lower left Photo: ”I, the undersigned, Governor General of the Philippine Islands do hereby request all whom it may concern to permit safely and freely to pass, sail in one of your ports, give all lawful and ___

___ ___ to Felicula F. Reyes a citizen of the Philippine Islands giving allegiance to the United States

Given unto my hand and the seal of the Philippine Islands at Manila

March 15^th, 1930

________________

Dwight F. Davis*

Governor General of the Philippines”

U.S. Passport of a Philippine Islands Citizen issued in 1930

Before becoming the Governor General of the Philippine Islands in 1929, Dwight F. Davis Sr. served as Secretary of War from 1925 to 1929.

Dwight F. Davis graduated from the officer training program at Plattsburg, New York, and went on to serve in the American Expeditionary Force in France with the 35th Division of the 138th Infantry Regiment, in the final phase of the First World War. He served alongside a future US President, then “an obscure artillery battery commander by the name of Captain Harry S Truman”. The final months of the war saw over one million Americans take part in the series of Allied attacks, known as the Hundred Days Offensive. Part of this, last 47 days of the war, was the Meuse-Argonne Offensive (sometimes called the Battle of Argonne Forest), where Lieutenant Colonel Dwight Davis earned both a Distinguished Service Cross and a Silver Star Citation for “extraordinary heroism in action”.

Lower left Photo:

I, the undersigned Governor-General of the Philippine Islands do hereby request all whom it may concern to permit entry and freely to pass and in case of emergency give all lawful aid and protection to the bearer: Felicula F. Reyes, A CITIZEN OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS OWING ALLEGIANCE TO THE UNITED STATES.

Given unto my hand and the seal of the Philippine Islands at Manila

March 15^th, 1930

________________

Dwight F. Davis

Governor General of the Philippines

1944 Nov. 5 – The Bombing of Zablan, Nichols and NIELSON Airfields

If you look at Ayala Ave. – G. Puyat and Makati Avenues, these three roads form a triangle similar to an airfield. It was the old Nielsen Field. (See Photo)

It was Joseph McMicking’s idea to develop Makati as the new financial center of the Philippines. Yet not a tiny street, park or even a building was named after Joseph McMicking and Roy Hall.

Neither was there anything named after Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

The Old Nielsen Field. It was Joseph McMicking’s idea to relocate Manila’s financial district to Makati in the old Nielson Field located northeast of Nichols Fields renamed Villamor Air Base.

Built by the Americans before the war, the Nielson airfield had two intersecting runways, the main runway NW/SE and a smaller runway running NE to SW, with taxiways that connected both, plus dispersal areas in the surrounding area. Prewar, used by American Far Eastern Aviation and Philippine Air Lines (PAL).

When the threat of war loomed, Nielson was taken over by the FEAF (Far East Air Force) and enlarged with hangers, workshops and facilities. FEAF’s Manila Air Depot is where new aircrafts were assembled and equipment stored.

Had the Philippines remained a U.S. Territory, Nielsen Field and Nichols Field would have been American Battlefield Monuments like the rest of the entire Philippines.

Below: Feb. 1945 map showing Nichols and Nielson Airfields plus Fort McKinley. – From the book: “The Battle For Manila”. It also shows the progress made by advancing U.S. troops.