George Reynolds Mitchell

Graveside service: 2 p.m. Wednesday in Shannon Rose Hill Cemetery. Visitation: 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Shannon Rose Hill Funeral Chapel.

George Reynolds Mitchell was born July 7, 1919, in Arlington. He moved to Handley in the mid-1930s and graduated from Handley High School in 1938. During his high school years, he was an outstanding football player and captain of his team. He served his country during time of wars and peace. He served in the South Pacific during World War II, in Korea during the Korean War and two tours in Vietnam. He retired from the military in 1965 from Headquarters Air Rescue Service as a senior non-commissioned officer in the helicopter maintenance division in rescue in Headquarters Air Rescue as technical advisor to the deputy chief of staff in helicopter maintenance. During 1957 he participated in the atmospheric nuclear weapons testing at the Yucca Flats, Nev., test site. He was flight engineer aboard a H-21 helicopter that participated in Operation Plumbod. During his military career he received many awards and decorations. Among them he received the Armed Forces expeditionary medal, two bronze stars (a U.S. military decoration awarded either for heroism or for meritorious achievement in ground combat), the Air Force commendation medal and the Air Force outstanding unit award. After retiring from the Air Force with 24 years of military service, he was employed by the Department of Defense as an industrial specialist working with private industry in Texas that had government contracts. He was a graduate of the Air University Institute of technical school of symptoms and logistics in contract management. His last assignment was with the Defense Contract Agency with offices in Dallas. He had a total of 38 years of government service.

Survivors: He married his beloved wife, Rosemary Whittle, on Nov. 1, 1941, and they were blessed with two daughters, Ray Frances Lorenz (Roger H.) and Georgeann Mitchell; and later with grandchildren, Amy Lorenz Davis and Schyler Mitchell Magdziak (Cody); and one great-granddaughter, Kylie Foster.