As cemetery memorials go, it is not a pretentious one. Like so many that mark the resting places of veterans of military service since the Civil War, it is a simple upright white tablet of stone with a rounded top and denotes that the deceased served his country honorably in the military establishment. The lettering, too, is simple and unadorned, stating merely: Jasper S. Loveall, California, Pfc 102 Engr C Bn, 27 INF Div, WORLD WAR II, Nov. 13, 1915, July 11, 1944.
Near it are several other sites bearing flat stones memorializing Jasper M. Loveall (1874-1962) and his wife, Emma J. Loveall (1879-1966), the parents of the soldier. The earliest marker in the family plot is for Silas Loveall (1840-1923), the grandfather of Jasper S. and himself an infantryman in Missouri during the Civil War.
Members of the Mannford Post of the American Legion have for some years placed flags at the graves of all known deceased veterans on special occasions such as Memorial Day. The special significance of this particular veteran's sacrifice was overlooked, however, until this year (1988) because of the California identification on his stone. Throughout the entire year of 1976, the post had attempted to identify some local service man who had died for his country in battle. The membership planned to perpetuate his honor by naming the newly chartered post for him. In spite of the effort, no battle casualty from Mannford was located, and Howard Byrom of Blackburn, Oklahoma was subsequently so honored.
When the life and death of Loveall was brought to the attention of the membership, largely through the efforts of Legionaire Charles Daub, the post was recently rechartered and is now officially the Howard Byrom-Jasper Loveall Post #179 of the American Legion of Oklahoma.
Jasper M. and Emma Loveall moved from Missouri to Oklahoma very soon after stateh0ood, bringing with them his patches of sandy loam. In Creek County about six miles south of Mannford on what is now state highway 48 appealed to them as a place for their growing family to reside. Silas passed away in 1923 at the age of 83.
Jasper S. was born in 1915 at home as was customary at that time. According to his older brother, Oscar, currently living in Sand Springs, OK, he was a quite active and very scholarly youngster with a particular interest in Agriculture. With the confusion of similar names in the household, he very early became known to both family and friends as "Tank."
"Tank" enrolled in Mannford High School August 31, 1931, having already completed grade school there. He graduated in the top half of his class May 10, 1935 at a time when school attendance was not compulsory and was even frequently discouraged for farm boys. He finished school at age nineteen at the worst part of the Great Depression and found that the best avenue for the continuation of his education was enlistment in the Civilian Conservation Corps for a year beginning the the fall of 1935. At a camp near Woodward, Oklahoma, he completed three consecutive courses with honors. The third, Soil Conservation Practices with Heavy Machinery, would link him to his destiny. "Tank" was there with his dozer.
By the time "Tank" finished his enlistment in the CCC, the family moved to California, as did so many Oklahomans during the times. They lived in Chowchilla, California. Only the older children, who by then had families of their own, remained behind. The father, then in his sixties, was becoming disabled. His disability was so complete by World War II that "Tank" listed him as his dependent when he enlisted in the 27th Infantry Division late in 1942.
As his basic training drew to a close, his training, demonstrated skills, and experience in the operation of heavy equipment drew attention, and he was rated as Private First Class with assignment to the Combat Engineers as a dozer operater. After intensive training and conditioning in California, the 27th Division was transported to New Caledonia for regrouping, refitting, and staging (Sam Crater, USAA Ret and current Commander of the Drumright American Legion Post, recalls helping service the vehicles and ordinances of the Division). "Tank's" division of 7,000 men was jointed in operation with the 2nd Marine Division of 18,000 to form the 5th Amphibious Corps. Objective: the Gilbert Islands.
The 2nd Marines were not only a much larger force; they had also experienced similar combat conditions in giving relief to the 1st Marines on Guadalcanal and in taking Tulagi to cut off Japanese supplies to it. They were given the task of taking Tarawa (afterwards to be known for a while as the most expensive real estate ever purchased by Americans in battle. Iwo Jima would claim the title before the end of the war). As "Tank" passed his 28th birthday, the 27th Division received Makin as its first combat assignment.
The attack began November 20, 1943. The two tasks began the same; both assaults were made over reefs against forces that were well entrenched. Once the beachheads were established, however, the response of the enemy caused them to be very different. On Tarawa, the defenders solved the problem for the Americans; they simply left their well defended positions and charged the Marine's hastily contrived entrenchments again and again until there were none of them left. The Americans suffered 30% casualties in the battle, largely in the exposed strip between the coral reefs and the beaches (Legionaire Harlan W. Baker of the Mannford post has reason to remember this well. He made the 'Canal' and Tulagi in good shape but was one of the severely wounded after reaching the beachhead on Tarawa).
On Makin, the enemy stayed within their well-designed positions. Having only a few amphibious tracked vehicles and tanks, the Americans were hard-pressed to take the obviously small complement, until they improvised by bringing the dozers into action. With their massive blades set just above the ground, the moved into the enemy positions, furnishing a steel shield for the troops moving with them, and were, thus, able to penetrate the enemy positions. "Tank" was there with his dozer.
Next objective for the 27th: the Marianas. The need: the air facilities on Saipan and Tinian within striking distance to the Japanese home islands for the B 29's of the US Army Air Corps (Tokyo would later be systematically incinerated from Saipan, while Hiroshima and Nagasaki would require just one bomb each delivered from Tinian). Another Army division, in addition to serving as a reserve unit, was to take the island of Guam. The plans for the assault were grandiose. Three Marine divisions and the 27th Army division were supported by twelve escort carriers, five battleships, and eleven cruisers. Behind them was Admiral Spruance's (he commanded the invasion) 5th Fleet comprising seven battleships, twenty-one cruisers, and sixty-nine destroyers, along with fifteen aircraft carriers with a total of 96 airplanes. The effort was designed to land 130,000 combat troops on the islands from their staging areas in Hawaii and Guadalcanal.
The massive force sailed from the Marshalls on June 9, 1944. On June 11, intensified aerial bombardment began. On the 13th, the battleships added their big batteries to the bombardment. On the morning of the 15th, 8,000 marines were landed on Saipan in just 20 minutes. By nightfall, the number had been increased to 20,000. The attackers were largely pinned down on the beachhead, because the enemy controlled the heights.
At that point, Adm. Spruance received communication that a large Japanese fleet was moving in from the Phillipine Sea, and it was deemed necessary to change battle plans. The 27th division was unloaded between the Marine divisions on Saipan in order that all transports could clear the area immediately and safely. The 5th fleet was moved west of Tinian to intercept the Japaneses in what would become known as the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot becuase of the decimation of Japanese naval air strength.
After the overwhelming victory by the Americans at sea, their eventual taking of the islands was assured. By June 25, the Marines controlled all of the high ground with strong air and naval support. On July 6, the two top Japanese commanders, Admiral Nagunio and General Saito committed suicide in order to encourage their troops in their final attack. The next day, when this news reached the Japanese troops, 3,000 of them charged American positions until they all fell. Such charges continued day after day until a total of over 26,000 of them died. One technique in the Army division, still not too well equipped, was to meet the charges with the dozers as shields. "Tank" was there with his dozer.
On July 11, Jasper S. ("Tank") Loveall, his dozer, and the men accompanying him all fell in battle, possibly from hitting an unexpected bomb or shell from the many thousands of tons of explosives thrown into the area before the landing or during the month-long campaign.
After the necessary delays for the nation to finish the war and then reestablish order and communications over the world, "Tank" was returned to Mannford and was reinterred with full military honors by the Sand Springs Post of the American Legion.
This year, the newly-rechartered Howard Byrom-Jasper Loveall American Legion Post of Mannford flew its outdoor flag at half-mast at his grave and fired a three-volley salute in his memory on Memorial Day. In the stillness after the volleys, the hauntingly sweet strains of "Taps" (spine-chilling, scalp-tingling, and face-numbing to the wartime veterans present) echoed gently over the valley from the lips and trumpet of Legionaire Mike Arnold. In memory, "Tank" was there with his dozer. . .
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