Myloe Gerald Wilson

Myloe Gerald Wilson 1923-2022 “All I ever wanted was a family.” Myloe Gerald Wilson repeated those words often during his life of 98 years, 11 months, and 14 days. Myloe died August 22, 2022, of Acute Renal Failure. His eldest daughter was with him when he died. Myloe was born September 4, 1923, alongside a dark, dusty road some three miles from the doctor at Seminole, Oklahoma. He spent much of his childhood in the woods, hunting or fishing for his food and cooking it over campfires. He graduated from high school at age 16 and was attending the College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma when bombs destroyed a pretty little bay called Pearl Harbor. On his 19th birthday, he became Ensign Wilson in the United States Navy Aviation Service. He was assigned to the newly created Naval Air Transport Service as part of “Operation Lifeline, the V-5 program. His job was to land his plane on islands, still being shelled, load the plane with wounded marines, and try to take off again within 45 minutes, with the Marines and the enemy firing at each other across a runway, filled with potholes the Seabees had just filled an hour before. He and his crew in VRE-1 received a Presidential Citation for their courageous effort on Okinawa. Another favorite phrase, Myloe used often was, “I wonder where that road goes?” Then, he and his family of four would bounce, gasp, and giggle their way up some one- way Rocky Mountain mining road, only to back all the way back down the mountain when they met the huge trucks hauling ore. His bride of 75 years, Alice Geren Wilson, was not so excited about these wild rides, but “Skipper” hung on with white knuckles until her death in 2019. “I had to show the girls there was a world out there,” he said of the family travels. Following roads leading into the unknown led Myloe to pursue several different careers. He “officially” retired at least three times. Myloe is a member of the First Families of the Twin Territories and has researched and written two family history books. The family he always wanted will carry his legacy onward through his words and photographs. His survivors include two daughters, two granddaughters, and two great grandchildren as well as a 3rd grandson who preceded him. They and his extended family members who will carry his love of country and devotion to family forward into generations to come.

Tributes

Myloe Gerald Wilson

September 4, 1923 - August 22, 2022