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16134 Gayle, John Stuart
November 07, 1924 - July 21, 1951

usma1946


 

 MEMORIAL ARTICLE
Published Assembly Jan '92

John Stuart Gayle   No. 16134  Class of 1946  Died 21 July 1951 When A Canadian Pacific Airlines Plane On Which He Was A Passenger Disappeared Somewhere West Of Juneau, Alaska, aged 27 years.

 

John Stuart Gayle was always known to his family and friends as Jack. Born 7 November 1924 in Denver, Colorado. Jack's father was a Virginia Military Institute graduate and had served on active duty in World War I. Jack's parents divorced when he was young, and his mother was remarried to Navy Captain Charles Tozer. Thus, Jack was raised as a Navy "junior." At Coronado High School Jack was a mainstay of the school's athletic programs. He played end on both offense and defense on the 1940 football team, which was unbeaten and allowed only six points all season. He also played basketball, ran track and was sports editor of the school paper. Arriving at Coronado about that time was Mary Lynn Pratt, whose Navy father had wired his family from the Philippines to leave Honolulu immediately and get to CONUS. Thus Mary Lynn met Jack Gayle, a relationship that was to lead to marriage.

A friend and fellow Navy "junior," Jack Shultz, remembered that Jack Gayle had an air of sophistication and class that fit well with Cole Porter lyrics. He had a way with words and listened for well-turned phrases that he could put to good use. He began to write in high school, and Downbeat magazine published his letter declaring Artie Shaw a better clarinetist than Benny Goodman. With the war underway, Jack decided to leave high school after his junior year and prep for the Naval Academy, upon learning that he could not pass the eye examination for the Navy, Jack joined his friend Jack Shultz at the Sullivan School and prepared for the USMA exams. Jack entered West Point on 1 July 1943 with the Class of 1946.

Cadet life was just one of those things that Jack had to conquer before he could get on to being an Army officer. His Howitzer write-up says, in part, "This easy-going Californian fell naturally in step with the flanker tradition, but he always remained a step ahead of the Academic and Tactical Departments. His love for athletics is matched only by his fondness for sleep and sunshine." As one of his flanker classmates recalled, that statement in the Howitzer sums up Jack's cadet life - except for his devotion to Mary Lynn. Graduation saw Jack become a second lieutenant of Infantry,

Four days after graduation, Jack and Mary Lynn were married in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware on 8 June 1946. The newlyweds went to Fort Benning, Georgia where Jack attended the Infantry Officers Basic Course. Joe Finley recalled that Jack played on the officers' basketball team sponsored by the Goo Goo Restaurant. The two Jacks shared many rides to training areas, bumming cigarettes from each other and talking about Coronado. The packs of cigarettes would be so mashed that a cigarette would have to be pulled from the ends before it could be lit. Jack Gayle called those rumpled cigarettes "INFANTRY cigarettes," a term that Jack Schultz used many times in the ensuing 43 years. At Fort Benning, Jack Gayle began turning serious about a career. His range of interests was broad, and he discussed current events with a global geo-political perspective. In the spring of 1947, the two Jacks split up, with Jack Shultz going to Germany and Jack Gayle to Korea. Neither knew at the time that they would not meet again.

 Jack Gayle was assigned as a company commander, K Company, 17th Infantry when he arrived in Korea. Later he commanded C Company and then became assistant G-2 of the 7th Infantry Division. While in Korea, Jack played on the All-Korea All-Star football team in the Rice Bowl in Japan on 1 January 1948. In December 1948, when the 7th Division moved to Japan, Jack became a platoon leader, first in A Company and then in C Company, 32nd Infantry at Camp Haugen, Japan. In March 1949 Jack received a letter of commendation for his efforts in preparing a pictorial history of the Seventh Infantry Division. Mary Lynn was able to join Jack in Japan, but after just a few months she became ill and the Gayles had to leave for CONUS. The Gayles were en route to CONUS when Jack received a cable ordering him to Fort Leavenworth to become aide-de-camp to then Major General M. S. Eddy, the Commandant.

The Gayle's first child, Ann Lynn, was born 7 January 1950 at Fort Leavenworth. When General Eddy was promoted to lieutenant general and left for Europe, he wrote Jack a letter of commendation. "During your service with me I have been impressed with your intelligence, loyalty, earnestness, integrity and capacity to learn. In your brief career as an officer you have already demonstrated a firm grasp of your profession and an ability to assume responsibilities well beyond your present rank. . . " The summer of 1950, Jack and Mary Lynn moved back to Fort Benning, Georgia where Jack became aide-de-camp to Brigadier General Harlan N. Hartness, Commanding General, Fourth Infantry Division. It was while he was at Fort Benning that an article Jack had written, "Korea - Honor Without War," was published in the January 1951 issue of Military Review.

In the spring of 1951, Jack was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Psychological Warfare, Department of the Army in Washington. He received orders for a classified mission and Mary Lynn, pregnant with their second child, moved in with her parents. Jack departed Washington in July 1951 en route to Seattle to visit his sister Ann before continuing on his mission. After the visit, Ann put Jack on a train to an unknown destination in Canada where Jack was to board a Canadian Pacific Airlines plane. Speculation was that Jack was en route to Korea, but this has never been determined. On 22 July 1951, Mary Lynn received a telegram from the Department of the Army informing her that Jack was missing. The plane, a DC-4, was last heard from on distress radio somewhere west of Juneau, Alaska on 21 July 1951. On 28 December 1951, Mary Lynn received a report of death from the Army stating only that Jack was a passenger on an aircraft that crashed somewhere between Cape Spencer and Yakutat, Alaska. Jack was survived by his wife Mary Lynn, two daughters, Ann Lynn and Catherine (born 27 November 1951), his parents, sister Ann and brother Richard.

On that fateful day in July 1951, a bright, rising star fell from the sky. It is still hard to believe that he is gone. He loved his wife and sweetheart Mary Lynn and adored his baby daughter Ann. He couldn't wait to do his duty and get back to meet his daughter-on-the-way Catherine. Unfortunately, fate stepped in, and none of this was to be. Instead, those left behind can only remember what a privilege it was to have been associated with Jack Gayle. He is remembered fondly as a terrific guy, well liked by all who knew him. He was a West Pointer through and through. He never talked about "DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY" - he just lived the motto every day of his life. It is with pride that the Class of 1946 salutes him with, "Well Done, Jack; Be Thou At Peace!"

                       '46 Memorial Project and his wife Mary Lynn
 
 
 
 
Personal Eulogy
deceased 

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