Myron Ray Lovell was born April 24, 1927 at Hackett, Sebastian Co., Ar. to Earl Johnny & Pearl Ardonea Martin Lovell. He spent his childhood in So., Sebastian Co., Ar. Myron was a twin to sister Marion Dae Lovell. March 17, 1950 he married Willadean Oxford, both residents of Fort Smith, Sebastian Co., married in Crawford Co., Ar. They divorced January 26, 1955. His second wife was Catherine E. Kathy Hester. No date for that marriage has been found. From his draft card for the 2nd draft it shows his 1st enlistment and Navy service were September 7, 1945 - June 30, 1949. He registhered for the 2nd draft July 5, 1949. Another date stamped on that card says "Feb 26, 1951 Court House, Fort Smith, Ar." He does have a listing as a resident of Fort Smith in 1951 in the Fort Smith City Directory. Most of his service time he spent on the USS Jicarilla and the USS Burton Island. Their storys are found below. Myron Ray Lovell passed away 21 Apr 2002 at McAlester, Pittsburg, Oklahoma with burial being in Memory Gardens Cemetery there. US Navy Musters and Ships USS Repose Hospital Ship Sept 10, 1947 (From the 1st muster from the Jicarilla below it appears he served on the USS Mitchell before Jicarilla.) USS Jicarilla 1947 1948 USS Burton Island 1948 Ships Stories His service was from 1945-1951 but his muster records do not cover all that time. USS Mitchell (DE-43) An Evarts-class destroyer escort constructed for the United States Navy during World War II. She was sent off into the Pacific Ocean to protect convoys and other ships from Japanese submarines and fighter aircraft. She performed escort and anti-submarine operations in dangerous battle areas and was awarded nine battle stars, a very high number for a ship of her type. More on her service can be found at HERE USS Repose USS Repose (AH-16) was a Haven-class hospital ship in service with the United States Navy, active from May 1945 to January 1950, from October 1950 to December 1954, and from October 1965 to May 1970. USS Jicarilla USS Jicarilla (ATF-104) was Abnaki-class tugboat during the World War II. USS Jicarilla towing USS Nevada with a big torpeda hole in her side in 1948 Following shakedown in Chesapeake Bay, Jicarilla departed New York towing barges 9 August 1944, bound fox San Francisco via the Panama Canal. She arrived 22 September, but sailed again seven days later towing ARD-21 to Pearl Harbor. The tug remained in Hawaiian waters until November doing salvage and towing work, including the difficult task of pulling SS Antigua off a reef from 14 to 21 October. Departing Pearl Harbor on 7 November, she towed barges of supplies to advance bases at Eniwetok and Ulithi, arriving the latter island on 3 December. With the campaign to recapture the Philippines well underway, Jicarilla sailed on 10 December as part of the refueling group for Task Force 38, the fast carrier group then supporting the Philippines operation. Refueling began early on 17 December but had to be broken off as weather worsened. Anxious to top off his destroyers and support the Mindoro operation. Admiral Halsey continued attempts to refuel until the next morning, when Jicarilla and the rest of the fueling group turned south. The fleet tug rode out the typhoon and returned to Ulithi on 22 December, but the great storm sank three gallant destroyers, two of them from Jicarilla's group. Undaunted, the fast carrier force resumed its punishing attacks on the Philippines. Jicarilla arrived at Leyte on 7 January to support the next amphibious operation at Lingayen Gulf. She sailed on 9 January with a convoy of LCI's and LST's; despite numerous air attacks by the Japanese, she arrived at Mangarin Bay 2 days later. The tug remained there until 22 January performing salvage and firefighting duties on the many damaged and beached landing craft. She arrived Ulithi on 27 January. After towing voyages between Ulithi and the Marianas, Jicarilla sailed from Ulithi on 9 April pulling a much-needed floating drydock to Okinawa. The veteran tug arrived at Kerama Retto, repair base for the Okinawa operation, 16 April, and remained there to perform salvage work on ships damaged in the desperate kamikaze attacks. She sailed on 20 April with Idaho, arrived at Guam on 25 April, and from there returned to Ulithi on 30 April. After towing work at the advance base, she sailed for Leyte on 19 May and arrived Okinawa again on 13 June. As the struggle for the island continued, she worked directly off the Hagushi beaches, towing landing craft and performing salvage work. Thus, she contributed importantly to the eventual victory by helping to keep the massive fleet afloat and operating. Jicarilla remained at Okinawa until departing for Wakayama, Japan, 21 September. Four days later she arrived, and performed towing duties in connection with the occupation operations until returning to Okinawa on 14 October. After a voyage to Guam, the ship steamed to Iwo Jima on 4 December to salvage the ARL-32. In the months that followed, she was engaged in towing and salvage in the Marshalls and Carolines, arriving Pearl Harbor on 24 April 1946. Jicarilla spent the summer of 1946 in the Marshall Islands in support of Operation Crossroads, the history-making atomic test series in the Pacific. Returning to the United States on 14 September, she performed towing duties on the West Coast and at the Canal Zone until 23 January, when she sailed again for the Far East from Bremerton, Washington. The ship operated out of Pearl Harbor until May, sailing on the 14th to Guam. Jicarilla arrived Tsingtao, China, 17 June for towing and salvage work in connection with the American Marines ashore. In the months that followed, she continued to steam between American Pacific bases and China. After a month at Pearl Harbor, she returned to Long Beach on 18 February 1948. On 26 July, Jicarilla towed the former battleship Nevada out to sea to be sunk as a target. The ocean tug conducted operations on the Pacific coast and out of Pearl Harbor until arriving Yokosuka on 25 January 1949. She again supported the American effort to bring peace and security to China and the Far East, before returning to Long Beach on 19 August 1949. After additional towing on the West Coast, she decommissioned at San Diego on 14 June 1950 and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet. USS Burton Island (AG-88) A United States Navy Wind-class icebreaker. USS Burton Island On 17 January 1947, Burton Island, loaded with supplies, steamed from San Diego to the Ross Sea, Antarctica where she met with units of TF 68 on the first Antarctica Development project, Operation Highjump. After returning from Antarctica, Burton Island departed 25 July 1947 for the Point Barrow expedition to Alaska. From April 1948 to December 1956, Burton Island participated in 19 Arctic and Alaskan cruises, including Operation Windmill. During Operation Windmill in the Antarctic Burton Island was the flagship of CDR Gerald L. Ketchum, USN commander of Task Force 39. Duties on the cruises varied including, supply activities, helicopter reconnaissance of ice flows, scientific surveys, underwater demolition surveys, and convoy exercises. In March 1949, Burton Island was redesignated AGB-1. In February 1958, Burton Island assisted Soya, which had become iced in near Antarctica carrying a replacement crew of Japanese geophysical researchers. A helicopter carried out the original crew, stranded at the Japanese base at Showa Station, but was forced to leave 15 dogs behind, including Taro and Jiro, who survived an Antarctic winter without human accompaniment. One prominent excursion was with the submarines USS Seadragon (SSN-584) and USS Skate (SSN-578) in 1962, in which torpedoes were tested underneath the polar ice pack after the two submarines had rendezvoused at the North Pole