Name: John Avard Gayton Rank: Private First Class Service Number: 2545672 Service: United States Army Air Service Date of Birth: May 3, 1893 Place of Birth: Lacona Village near Sandy Creek, Oswego County, New York Date of Enlistment: January 11, 1918 Place of Enlistment: Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York Height: Tall Hair color: Brown Eye color: Brown Marital Status: Single (at enlistment) Date of Discharge: February 21, 1919 Date of Death: October 10, 1968 Age: 75 Cemetery: Chadbourne Cemetery, Lyman, York County, Maine John Avard Gayton was the son of Ebenezer Crowell Smith Gayton (1852–1932) and Letitia Adelaide Henderson Gayton (1861–1941), and the husband of Marion Radford Snyder (1898-1990) from 1923-1934, and Geraldine (Mayville) Gayton (1915–2006), married in 1943. John’s father was born in Argyle, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. His mother was born in Brighton, New Brunswick. He was the brother of Carol Genevieve (Gayton) Kelsey (1884–1982), Claude Victor Gayton (1886–1937), Martha Abigail Gayton (1890–1892), and Donald "Dyke" McLeod Vince Gayton (1898–1982). Claude served with the US Army Air Service in WWI as a pilot and flying instructor. Donald also served as a Captain with the US Army during WWI. John graduated from the University of Rochester in New York (1912-1914), and registered for the US Draft on June 5, 1917, in Buffalo, Erie Co., New York. He was living at 944 Lafayette Ave in Buffalo at the time and working as an accountant. All though all his postings are not known, he was stationed at Love Field in Dallas, Texas while serving. Among other purposes, Love Field was used for test flights of repaired machines. Construction at Love Field began September 26, 1917, with flying beginning December 8, 1917. It served as a temporary flying field, a bombing school and advanced flying school with an 8-week course for bombers, and a 2-week course for pilots. It also served as Reserve Military Aviators' Concentration School for indoctrination training. John was discharged February 21, 1919, with demobilization at the end of his First World War. Shortly after discharge in February, he sailed from San Francisco, California on April 12, 1919, for South America where he had a position with an exporting firm. John registered for the US Draft for WWII on April 27, 1942, but did not serve during the Second World War. He was living in Lynn, Essex Co., Mass. For a time, he worked as an advertising representative for the National Paper and Type Co. in the Dominican Republic. He was forced to depart the DR after the instability that resulted following the assassination of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina. Known as ‘El Jefe,’ the Dominican Military Commander and dictator ruled the DR from August 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. John retired as an advertising executive and died at the Union Hospital in Lynn, Mass. after a brief illness in October of 1968.

John Avard Gayton

Source: findagrave United States Army World War I - Flight Training Love Field Information: Kyle Gayton Welch