On the home front or the battleground, M. Bedford Davis never gave up on a patient.
During World War II, Davis treated wounded enemy fighters as well as Allied soldiers. While on church mission trips, he befriended witch doctors in remote villages to gain community trust to perform minor surgeries. As an Atlanta surgeon, he’d spend extra time on a procedure because he was determined to save a life.
“He would work for hours. He would never give up, and I have the varicose veins to prove it,” said Mary Smart of Mableton, his surgical nurse for 40 years. “More people are walking around Atlanta because he wouldn’t stop until he got their tumor out, and he did.”
Davis of Mableton died May 23 at WellStar Tranquility Hospice in Austell after a long illness. He was 96. His funeral was May 27 at Northside Drive Baptist Church in Atlanta.
Born on Oct. 11, 1918, in Abbeville, S.C., Davis grew up in Atlanta. He was the salutatorian of the first graduating class of North Fulton High School in Buckhead, and finished second in his class at Emory University School of Medicine.
“He was quite intelligent. He skipped a grade or two in school, and they skipped him in college. So he entered med school early,” said his wife, Louise Rogers Davis of Mableton.
They married in 1942. After finishing his internship at Emory University Hospital in 1943, he entered the Army, serving in World War II with the 28th Infantry Division of Pennsylvania.
During the Battle of Hurtgen Forest in Germany in 1944, Davis and German medical personnel initiated a truce to allow the recovery of wounded soldiers at the bottom of Kall Trail. With the war almost over and medical supplies nearly gone for the Allies and their enemies, Davis and a German doctor agreed to merge medical aid stations. “That’s when he had a chance to treat enemy and Allied soldiers. He said that was his finest moment in life,” Louise said.
To raise money for a memorial for 28th Infantry Division soldiers who lost their lives, Davis and a German doctor later signed 1,200 prints of a painting titled “A Time for Healing” depicting the recovery of 40 wounded soldiers at Kall Trail.
For his military service, Davis was awarded a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and France’s Croix de Guerre. He later chronicled his wartime experiences in a book “Frozen Rainbows: The World War II Adventures of a Combat Medical Officer.”
“It was tough when he was away during the war,” his wife said. “There was no television or telephone. We only had letters, and I kept all the letters, which he used to write his book.”
After the war, Davis returned to Atlanta and trained as a cardiothoracic surgeon. During his 40-year career, he was part of the team that performed Georgia’s first open-heart surgery. He also performed the first thoracic surgery on live television.
In 1955, Davis repaired 2-day-old Melinda K. Wells’ tracheoesophageal fistula, a birth defect in which the trachea is connected to the esophagus. The condition caused food to go into her windpipe. In 1980, he attended her wedding.
“He saved my life. I would not have my children if it were not for him, and one child is a doctor herself,” said Wells of Cherry Log, Ga. “He was a model of a good Christian man and physician who believed and lived service.”
His thoughtful and attentive bedside manner was as important as the medical procedure and care he provided for her mother’s chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, said Mary Ann Hickman of Atlanta.
“When he walked in the room, her face would light up. He was such a kind and gentle and caring doctor,” Hickman said. “I know he was busy, but he was never hurried. He would listen to her talk about her family. He always took time with my mother. I appreciated that.”
A charter member of Northside Drive Baptist Church, Davis participated in the church’s Operation Touch medical mission trips to Honduras, Dominica, Granada and St. Vincent from 1970 to 1986.
“He soaked up every minute of life. Every part of the world was interesting to him,” said Kay Braswell of Smyrna, who grew up in the church and attended mission trips. “He was never judgmental of the people we helped. He was a great example to us young people of how to handle situations, how to love people and how to meet people where they are.”
In his spare time, Davis enjoyed sailing, piano playing, jewelry making and woodworking. He hand-carved a four-poster bed of walnut for one of his daughters.
At age 75, Davis retired from his practice and became chairman of the MedQual Medical Peer Review Board. In October 2011, he was inducted into the Society of Medical Consultants to the Armed Forces.
“Medicine was his life. He saved many, many lives,” his wife said. “I was so pleased to share this life with him.”
In addition to his wife, Davis is survived by his son Merrill Bedford Davis Sr. of Haines City, Fla.; his daughters Mary Anne James of Los Altos, Calif., Patricia Stortz of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Nancy Davis of Irvine, Calif.; seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
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