| Thomas
M. Mayfield, Jr. was born November 19, 1925 in Geer, SC.
He graduated from Greenville High School in 1942 where he
participated in football. He entered The Citadel in the
fall of that year where he attained the rank of Cadet Second
Lieutenant. Tom left there in December of 1943 for the Aviation
Cadet program but didn't make it beyond Miami Beach, so
he went on to aerial gunnery school training at Tyndell
Field, Florida. Upon graduation , he was assigned to the
29TH Bomb Group at Pratt, Kansas and finally the 39TH at
Salina, Kansas. There he became tail gunner of Crew 43 and
accumulated 21 combat missions by war's end. The crew was
on rest leave in Honolulu, Hawaii when hostilities came
to an end.
Tom
returned to civilian life and attended University of North
Carolina during 1946-47. In January 1948 he began work
with T. M. Mayfield and Co., an independent insurance
adjusting firm owned by his father. At first he served
in the Greenville office, but then in 1951, was transferred
to the Charlotte office and is still there -semi-retired
having served as president.
Mayfield
married Mary P. McGill, Geer, SC. July 30, 1948. They
have five children and eight grandchildren at this writing.
He is Ruling Elder of the First Presbyterian Church in
Charlotte where he has been active in many capacities
for several years.
Of
Crew 43, Tom informs us that all attempts have failed
to locate Bill Yarns, Stan Lipinski and Charles Hardin.
It is assumed they are deceased. He mentions that Virgil
Boyd their crew chief, did attend a crew reunion in 1974.
He has since died.
|
![wwiivic.gif [The Victory Medal, World War II]](../../../images/medals/wwiivic.gif)
![airmedal.gif [The Air Medal]](../../../images/medals/airmedal.gif)
![arpuc.jpg [The Presidental Unit Citation]](../../../images/medals/arpuc.jpg){kind=small}
