HIGH POINT CONFIDENTIAL: The missing airman: High Point pilot died in mysterious crash in 1943

Jan. 28—HIGH POINT — There wasn't much mystery in the life of 1st Lt. Miles A. Gayle, but there was certainly an element of mystery in the young High Point man's death.

The year was 1943, and Gayle seemed to be living a charmed life.

Described by The High Point Enterprise as "one of the most popular young men in the city," he'd grown up in the family that owned the Alderman Photo Co. — his middle name, in fact, was Alderman — and he seemed to have an All-American quality about him everywhere he went.

In 1935, he graduated from High Point High School at age 15. He attended Duke University for three years, then headed to the U.S. Military Academy, with his heart apparently set on becoming an American flyboy. At West Point, Gayle did it all — golf, soccer, Cadet Chapel Choir, Dialectic Society, concert and dance orchestras, yearbook staff, glee club director. He was even head cheerleader in 1942, the year he graduated.

Gayle's personal life seemed charmed, too.

With his boyish good looks and engaging personality, Gayle likely could've had his choice of women. He found love with a dark-haired beauty from Florida named Louise deJarnett, and they tied the knot on Feb. 2, 1943, at an air base chapel in Georgia.

The newlyweds came through High Point a few days later to visit Gayle's parents, Sid and Bess Alderman Gayle. Sid was president of the Alderman Photo Co., having taken over after the death of his father-in-law, S.L. Alderman.

This would not be an extended visit, as the young officer and his new bride were headed to California, where he was to be stationed with the 329th Fighter Squadron of the Army Air Corps. The nation was at war, and Gayle was training to become a fighter pilot.

The couple returned to High Point that June for a quick weekend visit. That was the last time Sid and Bess Gayle would see their eldest son alive.

On the morning of July 7, 1943 — less than three weeks later — news broke about a P-39 fighter plane that had mysteriously plummeted into Clear Lake, a large lake in Lake County, California. Ironically, it was the second P-39 to crash into the lake that week.

The 23-year-old pilot — High Point's own Lt. Miles A. Gayle — was reported missing and presumed dead.

Sid and Bess Gayle heard it first from Louise, who called them from California with the tragic news. A telegram arrived the next day from the Army, confirming the news and reporting the body still had not been recovered.

"Crews are working under difficult conditions and doing all possible," the telegram read. "Visited wife yesterday giving all known details."

While The High Point Enterprise wrote quite a bit about the lost airman, the paper had few details about the crash itself — only that Gayle's plane had plunged into the lake.

An account from the Lake County newspaper, the Lake County Bee, fills in some details for us. According to that paper, the crash occurred around 11:30 a.m. and was witnessed by a 14-year-old boy who'd been watching the plane and two others that had been in formation with Gayle.

"He stated he saw the big splash and then a haze over the water," the Bee wrote. "The other two planes circled over the spot where the plane crashed."

The boy reported the incident to the local sheriff's office.

"The plane apparently smashed to pieces," the Bee continued, "as considerable debris, the gas tank, first aid kit, a part of the pilot's cushion and his helmet were picked up near the scene about two hours after the crash."

What investigators didn't find, however, was the pilot.

For two weeks, crews searched the waters and shoreline of the 44,000-acre lake but found no trace of the downed airman. The military called off the search on July 22, conceding Gayle's body might never be found.

They were wrong. Two days after the search was abandoned, a couple who were picnicking by the lake spied Gayle's body washed up on the shore. The body was still strapped into the pilot's seat and still carrying a parachute.

Unfortunately, finding Gayle's body apparently didn't provide any insight into the crash. Newspaper accounts indicate only that he was flying in formation with the other two pilots when his plane suddenly dropped out of formation and plummeted into the lake. Relatives today say the family never learned anything more about why the plane crashed.

Gayle's remains were returned to High Point, and they were laid to rest in the family burial plot in a Greensboro cemetery. His grave marker bears a military insignia and the words, "Duty, Honor, Country."

As tragic as Gayle's death was, it has a poignant postscript: On Feb. 11, 1944, seven months after the fatal crash, Louise gave birth to a son, Miles Alderman Gayle II.

When Gayle died, we don't know whether he knew about his son. But given the circumstances of the airman's untimely death — and the significance of those three words etched on his grave marker — we have to hope and believe the son grew up knowing all about his honorable father.

jtomlin@hpenews.com — 336-888-3579