Glen B. (Bert) Guyton

Glen B. (Bert) Guyton, age 86, of Belton died Tuesday, April 14, 2009 in Harker Heights. A memorial service will be held at 10:00 AM Saturday, April 25, at the Broad Ranch near Brady with Chaplain Albert Lopez officiating. Burial will be at Rest Haven Cemetery in Brady. Mr. Guyton was born March 22, 1923 in Sperry, Oklahoma to Frank and Maude (Phillips) Guyton. He graduated from Sperry High School and attended Junior college. He joined the U. S. Army Air Corps in 1942. He was an airplane power plant mechanic and gunner 1684 on a B-29 bomber named "Mail Call". He made 25 missions from Burma, India and on mission #26 his plane was shot down over Tokyo on or about May 26, 1945. He was captured by the Japanese and held prisoner at a POW camp on Tokyo Bay for four months where he was severely beaten, tortured and starved. He was then transferred to a POW camp in Omari, Japan where he was liberated on or about September 15, 1945. After he was discharged he served in the reserves until he was discharged in 1952 with the rank of Staff Sergeant. Among the medals he received were the U. S. AAC Gunner Wings, Distinguished Flying Cross, Army Air Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Purple Heart, Marksmanship Medal (Pistol and Rifle Expert), Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, POW Medal, Presidential Unit Citation and Oklahoma Cross of Valor. After the war, he was owner and president of Guyton Manufacturing in Tulsa for 37 years. He married Bernadine G. Broad on June 4, 1975 in Clovis, New Mexico. They have been residents of the Belton area for the past 11 years. He was a member of the VFW in Tulsa. He was preceded in death by his parents, an infant twin daughter, Denice Guyton and his sister, Nell Guyton Davidson. Survivors include his wife, Bernadine Broad Guyton of Belton, his children, Mark Guyton and Chris Guyton both of Tulsa, Deborah Guyton Black of Sapulpa, Oklahoma and Dr. Michael Compton. Also surviving are two cousins, Lynda Broad of Belton, Bert Broad of Brady, 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.