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Maj. Mathis Obituary
Maj. Peyton Spotswood Mathis, Jr., will be buried with military honors at Greenwood Cemetery at 2:00 pm on Saturday, January 3. The son of Peyton S. Mathis, Sr., and Laura Davis Mathis of Montgomery, Maj. Mathis was a 1932 graduate of Sidney Lanier High School. After earning a chemical engineering degree from Vanderbilt University, where he also played football, Peyton Mathis volunteered as an aviation cadet in 1940.
As a lieutenant, Peyton Mathis was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Silver Star for his World War II service in Europe and North Africa. Later promoted to Major, Mathis commanded the 44th Fighter Squadron in the Pacific Theater. He was killed in action on Guadalcanal on June 5, 1944.
His immediate family included his sister Helen Mathis Lutz Cumbus, half-siblings Warner L. Mathis and Amy Mathis Boswell, nieces Mary Ann Lutz Hooper and Helen Lutz Perkins, and cousins Mary Eleise Cravey and Lt. Col. John T. Cravey, all later deceased in the years that Maj. Mathis was missing in action.
Peyton Mathis, Jr. is survived by his widow Evelyn, half-nephews and -nieces Peyton Mathis III, Warner L. Mathis, Jr., Marcia Mathis McCabe, and Hazel Mims Mathis, and first cousin Laurette Cravey Kimbrough of the Davis family.
The family wishes to thank Mr. Anders Markwarth of Guadalcanal, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, and the people of the Solomon Islands for their efforts in recovering and identifying Maj. Mathis.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Maj. Mathis
Alan wasserman
January 6, 2015
Thank you for your service and sacrifice for our country and a free world, gone but never forgotten , rest in peace sir.
January 5, 2015
Well Done Thy Good and Faithful Soldier. The ultimate sacrifice was yours and you gave it to the Nation.
Millbrook, Alabama
judy davis
January 5, 2015
Thank you for your service. I am proud that you are home and now REST in the soil you so gallantly defended.
Lynda Myrick
January 3, 2015
Ithank God that Major Mathis was found, and returned to his family.
My father was a Mathis from Bishopville, or Sumter, South Carolina.
His name was Robert, and I think his father's name was James. I do not know his family, and I am hoping through your family name; I can find some of my relatives.
I pray God's peace for all the family.
January 2, 2015
We are relieved to know that Major Peyton Mathis, Jr. will be resting peacefully in his home state of Alabama. He died a hero. His country will be indebted to him for his extreme sacrifice. I hope that the tremendous outpouring of support will validate the high regard that everyone has for this fallen soldier. In tribute to his service I salute our fallen comrade.
Michael P. Dover
Disabled American Veterans
National Chaplain
Michael Masterson, LtCol, USAF (ret)
January 2, 2015
Ms. Mathis: my first active duty Air Force assignment in June 1981 was as the intelligence officer for the 44th FS at Kadena AB; I have always been a Vampire, and the honor of serving as part of the legacy and mission of your husband fulfills me. May God's Grace bring comfort and rest to the Major, and to your spirit.
Jackie Brienza
January 1, 2015
God bless you Major, home at last, home at last. Sweet Home Alabama you are.
Deborah Bean
January 1, 2015
My dad, Walter M Bonds was a Marine fighting on Gaudalcanal during Major Mathis' service. I personally thank you for your sacrifice and for the fact that my dad came home. Rest in peace sir!
Erin P
January 1, 2015
Welcome Home Sir and Rest In Peace! We veterans of today and citizens alike owe much to you and others of the greatest generation.
mark roche
December 31, 2014
A toast to Major Mathis, gone west. And to Dr. Rob Thompson, who has dedicated himself to so many cases.
Ronald Heitman
December 31, 2014
Welcome home and Rest in Peace Sir. Thank you for your service to our Country.
Bobby Hodgson
December 31, 2014
Welcome home
Becky Blackmon
December 30, 2014
Thank you Maj. Peyton S. Mathis, Jr. for your service to our country and your ultimate sacrifice. What an awesome story your family has to share.
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