Mayo Grabill Cox

After high school, he enlisted into the Army Air Corp in 1943 as a Flight Maintenance Gunner. Mayo was in the 492nd Bombardment Squadron in the 7th Bombardment Group. He arrived in India in November of 1944. On December 17, 1944, Mayo and the entire crew of the B-24 plane they were flying bailed out over the Himalayan Mountains when the plane ran out of fuel. For the next 28 days, they hiked out of the mountains to safety. The first eight days they were on their own before they encountered friendly Chinese soldiers. Sgt. Mayo G. Cox discharged from the Army Air Corp on November 21, 1945.

Mayo married the love of his life, Muriel (Murt) Hadley, on June 7, 1946. They were married for 70 years. After the war, Mayo was a flight engineer before transitioning to airline mechanic for Eastern Airlines in Washington, D.C. and Miami, Florida. Mayo retired from Eastern Airlines in 1980. After retirement, Mayo kept busy with golf, darts, making beautiful stained glass, and working part-time as a small engine mechanic for Clippers, a lawn care company in Fairfax, VA. He was also active in the American Legion Post 1976 in Annandale, VA. Mayo is preceded in death by his parents, George and Frances, his wife Muriel, his brother George, his sisters Henrietta and Marie, and his son Mayo Grabill Cox, Jr.

He is survived by his sons Richard and Michael, his grandsons, Michael, Joe, Richard, and Jimmy, his granddaughters Crystal, Deborah, and Tara, and his great-grandchildren Stephen, Patrick, Aaron, Connor, Jacob, Abigail, Ian, Madilyn, Abigail, Isabelle, Nathan, Teagan, and Gray.

The family will receive friends at 2:00 PM at Murphy’s Funeral Home, 4510 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA on December 30, 2019. A celebration of life service will follow at 3:00 PM and will be immediately followed by a reception with Mayo’s favorite food and drink.