King Olen Mayfield

Often family members contact the museum about loved ones who served.  I met Teena Jessup at our site announcement event on April 23 in Prince William County.  She introduced herself and spoke with pride about her dad’s military service and a footlocker of his personal items.  Below are a follow up email that Teena sent me and a write up and photo that she willingly offered to share about her dad, King Olen Mayfield.

Craig Stewart

Mr. Stewart, 

I talked to you after the announcement of the “Americans in Wartime” museum on Tue. 4/13.  I have my father’s WWII footlocker.  It is like a time capsule with uniforms, the flag from his coffin, the picture under the trunk lid of his flight.  I have his flight log books and all his paperwork.  I even have his letter sweater from either high school or college (I’m not sure which).  I can provide a picture of him in his uniform.  My mother sent him a pinup picture of her and I can provide that also.

Dad was a pilot.  Nothing fancy just transports and a flight instructor. 

I would like to donate all of this to the museum if you can use.  If you want to look at it, that is fine.  I just want to know that it is going for a good cause and can be used.  It would be typical of the young men that went to war to serve their country and never came back.  He was from New Mexico, born in Ala. and going to college in New Mexico when the war broke out. 

Why am I here?  I retired in 2008, a civilian worked for the Navy in acquisition for 23 years. 

Teena Jessup

King Olen Mayfield was born 1915 in Alabama, third in a family of six siblings.  When he was very young the family moved to the Texas panhandle to homestead a farm.  Olen played football in high school.  He attended and played football at Harden Simmons 1933 and 1934 majoring in Engineering.  In 1935 and 1936 he played football on a scholarship for Texas Tech.  Olen transferred to Western New Mexico College playing football where he was named a Little All American in 1936 and 1937.  Olen always wanted to learn to fly and when the college offered flying lessons he jumped at the chance.  Olen met at Western New Mexico College Charlcive Smith also attending college and they were married in 1938.  Olen worked as a chemist at the copper mines in Hurley NM while attending college.  World War II broke out and the US became involved, Olen joined up.  He wanted to fly and was trained and became part of the Army Air Corp.  Olen flew transports during the war and in 1944 attended OCS.  Olen was killed in an airplane accident at the end of the war.