By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
Donald Davidson, Indianapolis Motor Speedway historian, spun tales of Jimmy Daywalt, Dick Miller and more during a visit Tuesday afternoon with the Wabash Kiwanis Club.
Davidson and former Greencastle Mayor Mike Harmless were in Wabash as part of the Speedway’s outreach program to promote the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 in May.
This was Davidson’s third visit to Wabash in the last year. Each time he spoke about Daywalt and Miller. But this time, there were new twists to the tales.
Daywalt, who was the second-ever Indy 500 Rookie of the Year in 1953, was born and raised in Wabash.
While Davidson talked briefly about his racing career, he concentrated more on other aspects of his life during Tuesday’s 20-minute talk.
“He had two other phases of his life which people may not generally know about,” Davidson said of Daywalt.
Looking at the Indy 500 field today, not of the drivers have a military background, he said.
“But if you go back to like the early or mid 1950s, probably two-thirds of the field would have a military background,” Davidson said. “Some are surprising, and perhaps Jimmy Daywalt was one.
“He caught the tail-end of World War II … and I had it in my mind that he was with the Army Air Corps and ferried bombers. It turns out that, no, he actually flew missions and was in quite a number of them.”
Daywalt served as a tail gunner.
“If you ever spent time with him, you never would have guessed that,” Davidson said.
But that’s not the surprising aspect of Daywalt’s military career.
Davidson said he learned last fall during a ceremony honoring Daywalt at the Wabash County Historical Museum that he also played the drums with an Army Air Corps band.
“The Army Air Corps had a band, not only for formal occasions, but a dance band,” Davidson said. “Apparently, whenever their regular drummer wasn’t available, Jimmy Daywalt was their back-up drummer.”
Daywalt’s talents weren’t limited to the racecar.
“He was a very skilled skater, both rollerskating and ice skating,” Davidson said. “He apparently performed in some shows, and there was at one point some consideration as to whether he was going to be a professional race driver or a professional skater.”
For more, see the Feb. 15 issue of The Paper of Wabash County.