927 DONALD MCRAE MIXSON, ARCHIBALD MILES MIXSON (857), JOHN BRABHAM MIXSON (782), JOSIAH SETH MIXSON (724), WILLIAM J. MIXSON (707), JOHN C. MIXSON (706), JOHN C. MIXSON (700), JOHN MIXSON IV (6), JOHN MIXON III (3), JOHN MIXON II (2), JOHN MIXON I (1)

Donald McRae Mixson, son of Col. Archibald M. Mixson and Mildred McRae Mixson, was b. July 23, 1924 in the Philippine Islands, d. Feb 27, 1997 in Humboldt, CA.  He is a graduate of the U. of Wisc., and is a major, U.S. Air Force. He m. Nov 14, 1953 in Alameda CA to Sarah Gilliland, dau. of Brig. Gen. Morris W. Gilliland, and his wife. The couple had four children, but names and dates of birth were not given.  Shown in the Passenger crew list Mar 27, 1926, age 1 leaving Manila, Philippines on the US Army Transport Thomas to San Francisco.  Recorded on the US Marine Crops Muster Roll, Apr 1942, Company C, First Battalion, Eighth Marines, Second Marine Brigade, Reinforced, Tutuila, American Samoa.  

Donald Joins the Marines  

Amarillo Daily News, Amarillo, TX, Jan 24, 1942  

Boy, 17, Joins Marines As Mother Consents  

DALLAS, Jan. 23, 1942 Manila- born Donald McRea Mixson, 17 years old, joined the marines today with the expressed with he could get to the Philippines where his father, Co. A. M. Mixson, is fighting in the valiant forces of Gen. Douglas McArthur.  

 

In another six months young Mixson could have joined the army his farther served since 1911. In another three months he would have finished high school at Mineral Wells, Tex. But he was in a hurry, got his mother's permission to join the marines at once.  

 

"I just couldn't wait six months." he said as he was sworn in. I want to get a crack at the Japs before they (the American forces) kill them all. I just can't understand those bums bombing Manila."  

 

Colonel Mixson, formerly stationed at Camp Wolters, Tex., arrived in the Philippines ten days before the Japs attacked, his son said and the family received its first word from him Tuesday. It said simply: "I am O. K."

 

Donald went on to become a Captain in the US Air force and obtained a Masters in Nuclear Engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1957.  His master’s thesis was most interesting, titled “The Feasibility of the Nuclear Power ION Propelled Space Vessel” (now unclassified and available on the internet).  Considering it was 1957 this was quite an advanced concept.  Donald went on to become involved in Project Orion which was a government sponsored project to use nuclear bombs to power a spacecraft.  Donald was the officer assigned to Orion by the Air Force Special Weapons Center.  Donald’s role in project Orion is described in the book “Project Orion, the True Story of the Atomic Spaceship”, by George Dyson

Read my story: Project Orion and the Atomic Spaceship

 

928 JAMES MCRAE MIXSON, ARCHIBALD MILES MIXSON (857), JOHN BRABHAM MIXSON (782), JOSIAH SETH MIXSON (724), WILLIAM J. MIXSON (707), JOHN C. MIXSON (706), JOHN C. MIXSON (700), JOHN MIXSON IV (6), JOHN MIXON III (3), JOHN MIXON II (2), JOHN MIXON I (1)

James McRae Mixson, son of Col. Archibald M. and Mildred McRae Mixson, was b. Feb. 12, 1927 at San Francisco, CA He is a graduate of the U. of Wisc., and is a teacher and an actor, and (1963) a resident of Williamsburg, VA, pursuing graduate work.

931 MICHAEL BERNARD MIXSON, JR., MICHAEL BERNARD MIXSON (862), BENJAMIN J. MIXSON (784), JOSIAH SETH MIXSON (724), WILLIAM J. MIXSON (707), JOHN C. MIXSON (706), JOHN C. MIXSON (700), JOHN MIXSON IV (6), JOHN MIXON III (3), JOHN MIXON II (2), JOHN MIXON I (1)

Michael Bernard Mixson, Jr., son of Michael Bernard and Mildred Long Mixson, was b. Sept. 2, 1936, d. Oct. 11, 1988, bur Sunnyside Cemetery, Orangeburg, SC . He m. Sue Gertrude Banks, b. 1929, d. Apr 14, 2014  of Pine Hill, SC Their children:

972 Sherrie Lynn Mixson - b. May 21, 1961

973 Teresia Ann Mixson - b. Jan. 15, 1966

974 Susan Michele Mixson - b. July 24, 1967

Mr. Mixson is a real estate broker, a builder, and a developer. His home and offices are at Orangeburg, SC

934 WALTER CALDWELL MIXSON, JR., WALTER CALDWELL MIXSON (864), BENJAMIN J. MIXSON (784), JOSIAH SETH MIXSON (724), WILLIAM J. MIXSON (707), JOHN C. MIXSON (706), JOHN C. MIXSON (700), JOHN MIXSON IV (6), JOHN MIXON III (3), JOHN MIXSON II (2), JOHN MIXON I (1)

Walter Caldwell Mixson, Jr., s. of Walter Caldwell and Mary Lois Rickenbacker Mixson, was b. in 1941. He m. Patricia Phillips of Columbia, SC Children:

6980 Richard Anthony Mixson - b. 1965

6981 De'Atra Mixson - b. 1968

Mr. Mixson is a salesman for Warner Bros. of St. Louis.

936 JAMES GOODWIN MIXSON, THOMAS GOODWIN MIXSON, ARCHIBALD J. K. MIXSON (790), JAMES JOYCE MIXSON (735), ARCHIBALD K. MIXSON (709), JOHN C. MIXSON (706), JOHN C. MIXSON (700), JOHN MIXSON IV (6), JOHN MIXON III (3), JOHN MIXON II (2), JOHN MIXON I (1)

James Goodwin Mixson, physician, s. of Thomas Goodwin and Alma C. O'Dell Mixson, was b. at Tarpon Springs, FL, Aug. 10, 1918. He m. Loraine Lyle Benz - b. Dec. 13, 1920, d. Mar. 27, 2011 , dau. of Jesse C. and Clara Mae Berkshire Benz of Marengo, Ind. on Mar. 25, 1946. Dr. and Mrs. Mixson reside in Louisville, Ky. Their children:

16467 Elizabeth Crutchfield Mixson - b. May 6, 1950

16468 Archibald James Mixson III - b. Oct. 25, 1952

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