Q. Is there a list of the men and women who were members of the Camp Davis Fire Department that were on the crash crew. Recently my father, Edward J. Brown, who was a member of the fire department crash crew at Camp Davis in 1943, was told he was the last surviving member of the fire dept. He will be 89 in January 2013.
A. Apparently there is not such a list.
Neither David Stallman, an author and historian, nor Cliff Tyndall, who wrote a book about Camp Davis, knew of a roster for the Camp Davis Fire Department or its crash crew.
Rose Peters of the Missiles and More Museum, 720 Channel Boulevard in Topsail Beach, said she could not find a roster for the Camp Davis Fire Department in the museum’s archives. The museum is operated by the Topsail Island Historical Society.
Peters did find a large panoramic photo of the fire department.
“The photo is large but the figures are very small and it is mounted on core board,” she said. “Unfortunately I do not have a negative.”
Because of the core board, a Topsail Island print shop was unable to make a copy of the photo.
But you are welcome to come to the museum and view the photo, to see if you can pick out your father.
RELATED LINKS:
What is the Missiles and More Museum?
What is coastal Carolina’s contribution to the space program?
What is the history behind Camp Davis and Holly Ridge?
Date posted: November 6, 2012
User-contributed question by:
Wade J Brown
You may also want to check with the Onslow County Museum in Richlands, which has a pretty extensive archive of Camp Davis history and memorabilia.