‘He Was An American Hero’: Locust Grove Veteran Laid To Rest, Honored For Military Service

An American hero was laid to rest on Friday in Locust Grove.

Mayes Key was a prisoner of war in World War II then served in the Korean War before coming back to his home state and raising a family.

He passed away Sunday at the age of 98.

Loved ones say Mayes Key was calm, reserved, and didn’t like to brag, and there was nothing he loved more than God, his family, and his country.

Family and friends celebrated his military service and a life well lived.

“He was just always a light,” said Clarissa Yates, his granddaughter. “I think that was because of the experiences he had during the war. He knew that everything was little in life compared to what he had experienced.”

Key grew up in Yonkers, Oklahoma, a small town that was flooded in the 1940s to create Fort Gibson Lake.

“He was 18 years old when he enlisted and left Yonkers, Oklahoma to go fight and leave and not have a certain fate, whether or not he was coming home or not,” said Todd Rice, his grandson.

Key fought in the Battle of the Bulge and the Rhineland.

Then, he was taken as a German Prisoner of War.

“Just after his 19th birthday is when he was captured,” said Rice. “April 15th. His mom received a letter shortly after saying, your son is missing in action.”

Key was liberated three weeks later and came back to Oklahoma to start his family.

But a few years later, he was back to battle.

“When he came back from World War II, within a few days, he was working a regular job,” said Key. “We also sometimes gloss over the fact that not long after that, he went and fought in the Korean War.”

Key had five children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Those closest to him say he loved his family, God, and the United States.

“He was a hero,” said Yates. “He was an American hero. He experienced things that some of us could not fathom. And for that, we'll forever be grateful.”

You can read his obituary here.