James Merlyn Sweet, 81, was born on March 18, 1926, in Elma, Iowa to Ward and Doris Sweet. He passed away on August 20, 2007, in Midwest City.

Jim is survived by the love of his life, wife of 56 years, Rachel Kindred Sweet and their children: Merlyn Sweet Kelley of Oklahoma City, William Sweet and wife Vicki of Oklahoma City, Susan Moss and husband Pete of Tulsa, Lee Sweet and wife Lorraine of Tulsa, Joy Sanders and husband Steve of Indonesia; 14 grandchildren, and 6 great grandchildren. Jim graduated from the University of Oklahoma and then studied for a Masters in Religious Education with Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

He served in the US Navy on active duty from March, 1943 until March, 1947. He then returned to active duty March, 1948 until September, 1950. He was a survivor of Exercise Tiger (known also as Slapton Sands) in the English Channel April, 1944 when 800 men were lost in one night. He landed on Utah Beach on D-Day during the Normandy invasion. He was proud to be among those of whom Ambrose wrote in his book 'D-Day' that 'these young men were born into the false prosperity of the 1920's and brought up in the bitter realities of the Depression of the 1930's...None of them wanted to be part of another war. ...But when the test came, when freedom had to be fought for or abandoned, they fought...They were the men of D-Day, and to them we owe our freedom.' On August 15, 1944 Jim participated in the invasion of Southern France and was off Okinawa when the war ended. He spent September, 1945 through August, 1946 as part of the Japanese Occupation Forces. As a result of an experiment, Jim was aboard the Yard Minesweeper #422 which was outfitted with sails for a voyage from Pearl Harbor to Guam. He always kidded that this made a 'real' sailor out of him. He began a Civil Service career in 1950 that spanned twenty-five years. He served with the Strategic Air Command in Columbus, MS, Little Rock, AR, and finally for a year in Southeast Asia returning in 1968 to the Mekong Delta to turn Binh Thuy Air Base back to the South Vietnamese. Upon retiring as the Chief of the Depot Supply Division at Tinker AFB, in 1976, he and his wife, Rachel were appointed as Missionary Associates by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention serving in both Israel and South America until a second retirement in 1991. Jim was an avid bass angler and was always looking to land a bass weighing in double digits but closed out with an even nine pounds as his largest. Jim placed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ at the age of 30 and with the help of his wife and several pastors, has been preparing for this final journey ever since. Jim was a deacon and active in the ministry of First Baptist Church, Midwest City.

Services will be held at 10:00 am on Thursday, August 23, 2007 at the Barnes & Johnson Funeral Home in Midwest City.

Graveside services will be at Greenlawn Cemetery at 2:30 pm in Checotah, OK.

Donations in lieu of flowers to the Building Fund of First Baptist Church, Midwest City, OK.