Cdr. Paul Jones Myatt, Jr. (USN Ret.)'s Obituary
PAUL JONES MYATT, JR., passed away peacefully on January 19, 2024 at the Shell Point Retirement Community in Fort Myers, Florida. He was 97 years old.
Paul, son of Paul Jones Myatt and Margaret Allen Myatt, was born in North Carolina. He grew up in Arlington, Virginia, with his sister Marilyn and his brother James. Paul is survived by his son David and daughter-in-law Patricia, daughter Marilyn, grandsons Andrew (Kathy) and James, and great-grandson Jack.
Paul enlisted in the Navy during World War II and was sent to aerial gunnery school. After the war, he enrolled at the American University in Washington, D.C., graduating in 1949. He then returned to the Navy for flight training at Pensacola and Corpus Christi. Paul was awarded his wings and completed aircraft carrier flight qualifications in 1950. As a naval aviator, he flew many different types of planes, both fixed- and rotary-wing (helicopters). He served in numerous assignments, but loved flying the most. A member of the Navy’s first operational helicopter squadron, he flew choppers from icebreakers in the Bering Sea and on rescue missions under fire in the Korean War (shot down once). During the Cold War, he was a WV-2 Super Constellation command pilot flying the early warning radar “barrier” between Midway Island and the Aleutians. While in the Navy, Paul received a M.A. in cinematography from the University of Southern California. He served as head of the Motion Picture Department at the Naval Photographic Center in Washington, D.C., as commanding officer of the Atlantic Fleet Combat Camera Group in Norfolk, and as officer in charge of the Navy Motion Picture Office in Hollywood.
Upon retirement from the Navy in 1973, Paul began a second career with the Metro subway system then being built in Washington, D.C., most notably setting-up and leading Metro’s Audio-Visual section to document the new construction and the commencement of subway operations.
After retiring to Florida, Paul stayed very active. Continuing photography simply as a hobby, he memorialized dozens of weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and other events in the lives of his Shell Point friends and neighbors. In his Junonia Court community there, he was famous as the MC of regular Game Nights and Bingo Nights, often featuring popular quizzes and challenges of his own devising. A better-than-average athlete in younger days, he long remained a fierce community shuffleboard and table tennis competitor.
Paul was a devoted husband and father. His dear wife, Betty, predeceased him in 2015, after 63 years of marriage. She was the love of his life. They met in San Diego, where she was a Navy nurse and he a young pilot. Navy life meant that they moved ten times in their first 20 years together. Paul always credited Betty with their never-regretted decision to move to Shell Point, where they enjoyed many happy years.
During the past several years, as age took its toll, Paul fortunately was able to fulfill his wish to remain at Shell Point. His family is deeply grateful for the steadfast attention and care given to him by the wonderful professionals and staff at Shell Point’s Connected Living and Larsen Pavilion facilities.
There are no immediate plans for a memorial. Please visit Paul's memorial webpage at www.fortmyersmemorial.com where visitors can offer condolences to the family, leave a tribute or share photos and stories.
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