COLUMBUS, Neb. (Tribune News Service) — A hundred years of life is certainly worth celebrating, and with a large family to boot, Wayne Davy had quite the celebration.

Among family and friends, one guest at the March 22 party stood out — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen.

Pillen stopped by the open house party with well wishes and a medal to honor Davy’s World War II service. It is one of about 40 medals that Pillen has presented in his time as governor, something he personally appreciates being part of, he said. The medallion features “The Sower” icon that is seen on a variety of Nebraska imagery.

“It’s a tribute to longevity, a tribute to doing our best,” Pillen said. “It’s a tribute to freedom and liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and we would only be here enjoying it because of your work and your service.”

With 2025 marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, Pillen has set out to honor all living WWII veterans across the state.

Throughout his time as governor, Pillen has met many people in other countries who are grateful for the service of American veterans in conflicts like the Vietnam and Korean wars. One thing he would urge all those in attendance to do, he said, is be grateful for “The Greatest Generation.”

“Just so you know, every meeting starts with, ‘Thank you to the United States of America. We wouldn’t be who we are in Vietnam, wouldn’t be who we are in South Korea, Japan, the Czech Republic,’” Pillen said. “We were just (in the Czech Republic) after the election, they lived under oppression and only been free 35 years, they’re incredibly grateful, said, without American veterans they wouldn’t have the liberty.”

Davy’s story begins in Boyd County, Nebraska, where he grew up and, at age six, started attending school near Monowi. After a short stint in South Dakota, his family moved back to Nebraska, first near Sunshine Bottom, where Davy worked the farm with his father. He was around 11 when he started shocking and threshing wheat and milking cows.

“I began running a rack when I was 12,” Davy said. “This would involve harnessing a team, driving to the field and begin to load bundles. This would be after helping to milk about 10 cows, washing the cream separator, feeding the horses, pigs, etc. Dad would leave for the threshing machine to grease it, fuel the tractor and perform any maintenance needed by the machinery. At the end of the day, I’d head home, unharness and feed the horses, help milk and feed all the animals. Sleep? Yeah, about 10 to 4 a.m.”

He graduated from high school in Lynch in 1942 and briefly attended a machining school and worked in an Omaha munitions factory before enrolling in the U.S. Marine Corps on Aug. 19, 1942.

After boot camp in San Diego, Davy attended aviation supply school, joining the First Marine Air Wing in Espiritu Santo near Australia. As a member of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, he worked unloading and loading ships under the First Marine Air Wing, receiving the rank of technical sergeant before returning to the U.S. in 1944.

Back on the mainland, he was assigned to Quantico Marine Base, then to pre-preflight school in Murray, Kentucky, followed by preflight school in Athens, Georgia, and then primary training at the naval air base in Memphis, Tennessee. Davy received his discharge from Memphis in 1945 following Japan’s surrender. He remained in the Marine Corps Reserve.

Over the next several years, Davy had a few roles, most notably a job with Gateway Chemurgic. He also received a degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1950. After graduation he worked for Boeing in Wichita, Kansas as a buyer.

That same year, he married his wife of 57 years, Shirley Sanderson of Marquette.

In April 1951, the reserves called Davy to Camp Pendleton where he was part of the reactivation of the Third Marine Division. Shirley went to California until his discharge in 1952 when they returned to Nebraska for a while, then went back to Wichita.

Through the rest of the 1950s and into the 1960s, Davy worked with the Musgrove Petroleum Co. as secretary-treasurer before adding Columbus to his story in 1961, joining Bill Rankin in the feed mill industry and eventually buying Henke Machine with Bill and his brother Dick.

In 1962 the Davy family set up in Columbus and has remained in the area for decades since.

In 1964, Davy and the Rankins designed a device called a Kwik-Mixer, which saw some widespread sales at the time.

The Rankins sold in 1965 and in the late ‘60s, Wayne acquired Kools, a company that manufactured 54-inch blowers, and Myers-Sherman, which built industrial feed mixers in Illinois, prompting need of a new plant. Davy’s sons, Kent, Keith and Kyle all worked there for a while.

Davy served as president and general manager until his retirement in 1984, when he sold the company to another Columbus firm. During retirement, he and Shirley traveled, volunteered for Wycliffe Bible Translators, Highland Park Evangelical Free Church and SOWERs (Servants on Wheels Ever Ready).

Davy was chairman of the Service Corps of Retired Executives, helped found the Columbus Berean Church and served on the Columbus Civil Service board.

Outside of that, Davy also started a master’s course in archeology and had interest in genealogical research, rock collecting and playing bridge. He currently resides near Ashland with his daughter, Kathleen.

In his 100 years, Davy learned one simple thing that motivated him in all his endeavors — take care of family. That’s what brought him back to Nebraska in the first place, he said.

With his four children and their families, including 11 grandchildren, Davy certainly has quite a lot of family to care about.

Any living veteran who is a Nebraska resident (or was at the time of the war) and who served in the U.S. armed forces between Dec. 1, 1941, and Dec. 31, 1946, is eligible to receive a commemorative medal, provided they were not dishonorably discharged.

Veterans may receive the medal in hometown ceremonies or at a large ceremony at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln planned for May 8, 2025, the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (V-E) Day.

Also available are Hometown Heroes certificates for those who supported the war effort as civilians in roles such as joining the wartime workforce, serving as a member of the Crop Corps, growing a Victory Garden, providing nourishment to soldiers at a canteen or partaking in food rationing, according to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs website.

To apply for the medal or Hometown Heroes certificate, or for more information about the program, visit Veterans.Nebraska.gov/world-war-ii-recognition-program, email ndva@nebraska.gov or call 402-471-2458.

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