Joe McPhail: Difference between revisions
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https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15566052/claydie-mae-phelps | https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15566052/claydie-mae-phelps | ||
== Before birth == | == Before birth == | ||
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Joe and the other members of the squadron formed a good bond, were good friends with one another, all doing the same thing. One of the officers that was in 441 Squadron was a guy by the name of [[Rared Shaeffer]]<!--40:45-->, who was a Texan. There were some pictures that had been taken of the squadron during their time overseas<ref name=":5" />. | Joe and the other members of the squadron formed a good bond, were good friends with one another, all doing the same thing. One of the officers that was in 441 Squadron was a guy by the name of [[Rared Shaeffer]]<!--40:45-->, who was a Texan. There were some pictures that had been taken of the squadron during their time overseas<ref name=":5" />. | ||
Eventually Joe and the squadron were transferred to the island of [[Funafuti]]. The island was 700 miles south of Tarawa which was being currently occupied by the Japan. Because of the distance they realized that the Wildcats couldn't really reach Tarawa and come back, and so in the air at that time Joe didn't see any Japanese planes. It would have been a one way mission attempting to do so, and so they never tried, and so never encountered or got entagled with a Japanese plane. Despite this they were technically still in combat. With all this they were kind of disappointed they weren't getting into any action, as meanwhile everyone else was out in engagements. In August 1943 the [[Guadalcanal Campaign]] began and they were sending planes over there<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. | Eventually Joe and the squadron were transferred to the island of [[Funafuti]], a group of small islands surrounding a volcano-like island. The island was 700 miles south of Tarawa which was being currently occupied by the Japan. Because of the distance they realized that the Wildcats couldn't really reach Tarawa and come back, and so in the air at that time Joe didn't see any Japanese planes. It would have been a one way mission attempting to do so, and so they never tried, and so never encountered or got entagled with a Japanese plane. Despite this they were technically still in combat. With all this they were kind of disappointed they weren't getting into any action, as meanwhile everyone else was out in engagements. In August 1943 the [[Guadalcanal Campaign]] began and they were sending planes over there<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. | ||
One of their jobs while overseas was to conduct reconnaissance of any Japanese ships that they could find. However they never found any<ref name=":5" />. | |||
The Japanese sometimes bombed them at night on Funafuti. The first time for Joe it was kind of scary, as there wasn't much they could do, other than getting into a foxhole and just had to tolerate it until it was over. The squadron didn't have any anti-air guns and so weren't able to compete with the Japanese who would come down to bomb them at night. Fortunately no one was harmed as far as Joe knew. His plane however did get destroyed and so they had to send in a new one, he never would really try to have any personal connection or relationship to his planes<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":5" />. | The Japanese sometimes bombed them at night on Funafuti. The first time for Joe it was kind of scary, as there wasn't much they could do, other than getting into a foxhole and just had to tolerate it until it was over. The squadron didn't have any anti-air guns and so weren't able to compete with the Japanese who would come down to bomb them at night. Fortunately no one was harmed as far as Joe knew. His plane however did get destroyed and so they had to send in a new one, he never would really try to have any personal connection or relationship to his planes<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":5" />. | ||
The 441 eventually went up to [[Nanumea]], only 500 miles from Tarawa. It was a pretty primitive island. At first when they landed there they didn't have any | On that note Joe did conduct what technically could be called night missions. A lot of the times that the Japanese would come and bomb at night the men of 441 would be required to put the planes up in the air in order to prevent them from being bombed and destroyed. Since they didn't have any night mission equipment they were told to go to a certain island within the Funafuti group until the raid is over and then come back home<ref name=":5" />. | ||
On Funafuti there were some natives that Joe met. He thought that they were friendly, not hostile in any way. The Japanese didn't have any plans to go that far (700 miles) south of Tarawa, nothing planned to do down there<ref name=":5" />. | |||
On Funafuti on base there were films relating to propaganda, music, among other things. There were movies, entertainment of people telling jokes and all that. Joe didn't really have a particular song that he liked. There were quite a few that he went to on Funafuti<ref name=":5" />. | |||
The 441 eventually went up to [[Nanumea]], only 500 miles from Tarawa. It was a pretty primitive island. At first when they landed there they didn't have any accommodations, everything being pretty open, and so they'd eat outside with the lack of a [[mess hall]]. Eventually though they got to building some stuff<!--40:10 recheck-->. On Nanumea there were some natives as well just like Funafuti. | |||
Even from there there was no way for the Wildcat to go to Tarawa and back, it would be essentially a one-way mission. Therefore their mission remained to keep the Japanese from getting it<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":12" />. | Even from there there was no way for the Wildcat to go to Tarawa and back, it would be essentially a one-way mission. Therefore their mission remained to keep the Japanese from getting it<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":12" />. | ||
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=== February to March 1944 - End of first tour overseas === | === February to March 1944 - End of first tour overseas === | ||
After staying with 441 for thirteen<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":22" /> to fourteen months<ref name=":12" />, with around 40 combat missions, Joe went back to the mainland United States. He came back with John and the two began instructing in a fighter training unit (squadron) in [[El Toro, California|El Toro,]] California | After staying with 441 for thirteen<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":22" /> to fourteen months<ref name=":12" />, with around 40 combat missions, Joe went back to the mainland United States. He came back with John and the two began instructing in a fighter training unit (squadron) in [[El Toro, California|El Toro,]] California. At El Toro he stayed at a hotel called [[Laguna Beach Hotel]] which was just nearby the base. He then went to [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]], Florida<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. At the time Joe was a Captain. One day, they and assuming others were in the ready room, and they were told that they needed two Captains to go overseas. Joe said<ref name=":02" />:<blockquote>Well, we're ready</blockquote>He was indicating that him and John were both ready to go overseas. John felt the same way as Joe did and was ready to go too<ref name=":02" />. | ||
=== March 1944 - Becoming a Captain and going back home === | === March 1944 - Becoming a Captain and going back home === | ||
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=== January 1945 - Going overseas a second time === | === January 1945 - Going overseas a second time === | ||
In January 1945, Joe and John went overseas for the second time<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":22" />. Unfortunately for the two good friends of Joe and John, they went into two separate squadrons. Despite this they would keep in touch with each other<ref name=":5" />. Joe now went to a new Marine Fighter Squadron in the [[New Hebrides]], specifically an island called [[Espiritu Santo]]<!--He pronounces it like Sprido Santes or something like that-->. This squadron, [[Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 (United States)|Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323]], known as the "[[Death Rattlers]]", which had 51 pilots, had been overseas already for six months, since around July to August 1944. They all knew that they were going to Okinawa<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":32" />. | In January 1945, Joe and John went overseas for the second time<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":22" />. Unfortunately for the two good friends of Joe and John, they went into two separate squadrons. Despite this they would keep in touch with each other<ref name=":5" />. Joe now went to a new Marine Fighter Squadron which was based in the [[New Hebrides]], specifically an island called [[Espiritu Santo]]<!--He pronounces it like Sprido Santes or something like that-->, east of Okinawa. This squadron, [[Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323 (United States)|Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323]], known as the "[[Death Rattlers]]", which had 51 pilots, had been overseas already for six months, since around July to August 1944. They all knew that they were going to Okinawa<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":32" />. | ||
While at Espiritu Santo they trained for 3 to 4 months<ref name=":5" />. | |||
For the Okinawa Joe and the rest of the squadron got Corsairs to fly<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":12" />. Compared to the Wildcat's | For the Okinawa Campaign Joe and the rest of the squadron got Corsairs to fly<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":12" />. Compared to the Wildcat's Pratt Whitney R-1830 engine with only 1000 horsepower, the Corsair had 2000 Horsepower with its Pratt Whitney R-2800 engine, a lot more powerful, making a good flying plane in Joe's opinion<ref name=":12" />. Unlike the Wildcat the Corsair had a hydraulic system, where you charged the guns, raised the wings, and even raised the gear hydraulically<ref name=":22" />. | ||
Since John and Joe were new to the squadron, they would not be able to fly the planes to Okinawa, or on the way there, unlike the more veteran members of the squadron. In any case they didn't have any more Corsairs for them<!-- 1:03:30 check back over this, "We didn't have any Corsairs" -->. They had to take an LST to get there. They departed from Espiritu Santo, 500 miles east of Guadalcanal, en route to Okinawa<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" />. | |||
It was while Joe was in the 323 the US Marines finally took Tarawa<ref name=":5" />. | |||
=== March to April 1945 - Trip overseas === | === March to April 1945 - Trip overseas === | ||
The trip took 38 days, about a month and a half. He must have thought what a heck of a way it was for an aviator to get into the war, as for him it was a long ride. Had he flown there, he would have only taken a couple days<ref name=":02" />. | The trip took 38 days, about a month and a half. He must have thought what a heck of a way it was for an aviator to get into the war, as for him it was a long ride. Had he flown there, he would have only taken a couple days<ref name=":02" />. | ||
The trip on the LST from there to Okinawa would take about two weeks. They first set out on the LST to Guadalcanal, then [[New Lithey]], and then on to Okinawa<ref name=":5" />. | |||
For him the experience on the LST wasn't all that good. The chow was kind of lousy. There were baked potatoes, black eyed peas, and would have been other things as well. For him it wasn't anything particularly spectacular. They had plenty of coffee though on there. At the time Joe was a smoker, just as everyone else was. He was also a drinker of alcohol, drank beer among other things. The heavy seas pitching on the LST made the experience worse as well. <ref name=":5" /> | |||
=== 1 April 1945 - The invasion of Okinawa === | === 1 April 1945 - The invasion of Okinawa === | ||
On 1 April, the [[Battle of Okinawa|US invasion of Okinawa]] began. The US forces didn't have much opposition. At this point the US was down to opposing a bunch of little islands in the Pacific. Joe was there while the invasion was happening. He thought that he saw the most amount of ships ever seen his his life. Other than that, they weren't able to get up to the beach, and so had to sit out there waiting to be able to land on the island<ref name=":02" />. | On 1 April, the [[Battle of Okinawa|US invasion of Okinawa]] began. The US forces didn't have much opposition. At this point the US was down to opposing a bunch of little islands in the Pacific. Joe was there while the invasion was happening. He thought that he saw the most amount of ships ever seen his his life. Other than that, they weren't able to get up to the beach, and so had to sit out there waiting to be able to land on the island<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. | ||
=== 7 April 1945 - Joe lands on Okinawa === | === 7 April 1945 - Joe lands on Okinawa === | ||
After waiting for six days to get onto the island, on 7 April Joe was finally able to get on the beach. Everything that was set up there by the US military was seen by him as pretty primitive. There were still men working on the runways, the airplanes still hadn't shown up yet, and they were living in tents and ate out of their mess kits as there was no mess hall, just had to do it outside. The flies and everything were so bad<ref name=":02" />. The airfield that their squadron squadron was based out of and flew out of was [[Kadena Air Base]]<ref name=":42">{{Cite interview |last=McPhail |first=Joe |interviewer=Cody Rheault |title=Joe McPhail {{!}} PART 2 {{!}} Oldest Living F4U Corsair Pilot |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ViTA2MnbcI |date=3 August 2023}}</ref>. | After waiting for six to seven days to get onto the island, on 7 April Joe was finally able to get on the beach. Him and the others were glad to be getting off<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":02" />. He saw that the landscape on Okinawa was barren with craters and such (just as in E. B. Sledge's memoir described)<ref name=":5" />. Everything that was set up there by the US military was seen by him as pretty primitive. There were still men working on the runways, the airplanes still hadn't shown up yet, and they were living in tents and ate out of their mess kits as there was no mess hall, just had to do it outside. The flies and everything were so bad<ref name=":02" />. The airfield that their squadron squadron was based out of and flew out of was [[Kadena Air Base]]<ref name=":42">{{Cite interview |last=McPhail |first=Joe |interviewer=Cody Rheault |title=Joe McPhail {{!}} PART 2 {{!}} Oldest Living F4U Corsair Pilot |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ViTA2MnbcI |date=3 August 2023}}</ref><ref name=":5" />. There wasn't a single time that the squadron, at least Joe, was based out of a carrier<ref name=":5" />. | ||
=== 12 April 1945 - Joe's first flight out of Okinawa === | === 12 April 1945 - Joe's first flight out of Okinawa === | ||
On 12 April Joe finally got | On 12 April Joe finally got into his Corsair and flew out of Okinawa. He was three out of three divisions with 12 planes in his squadron. | ||
Him and other planes climbed to an altitude of 20,000<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":5" /> to 22,000<ref name=":12" /> to feet. They were up there looking for planes. Finally the Fighter Director vectored the group North<ref name=":22" />. There were some veteran members of the squadron that were saying that there were some Bogeys. Joe could only see some clouds and didn't see anything else. He then proceeded to look down real low below him and saw a blue colored airplane chasing some brown airplane. He said<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":22" />:<blockquote>Well, I'm gonna go check him out.</blockquote>Joe took his plane down 2,000 feet, in which he now had four [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero|Zero]]<nowiki/>s in front of his eyes. He picked the Tail end Charlie and shot at him. He wasn't thinking of hurting anyone in that plane, but pieces started coming off from the rear plane and the zero blew up, while Joe passed him. He put his stick at full throtle. He now thinks that there's three Japanese planes behind him and thinks<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":22" />:<blockquote>Well gosh there's three zeros behind me I better get out of here.</blockquote>He rolled his Corsair over and started down, reaching [[compressibility]], in which his airframe couldn't take going faster down, but stayed resulting in his stick starting to jump around. He finally pulled out at about 9,000 feet<!--Look back is it 19,000 feet?--><ref name=":32" /><ref name=":22" /><ref name=":12" />. He then said<ref name=":22" />:<blockquote>I was going home</blockquote>He then proceeded back to base<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":32" /><ref name=":22" />. For Joe it was an exciting experience. He thought to himself:<ref name=":22" /><blockquote>Well this is what I have been looking for a long time.</blockquote> | Him and other planes climbed to an altitude of 20,000<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":5" /> to 22,000<ref name=":12" /> to feet. They were up there looking for planes. Finally the Fighter Director vectored the group North<ref name=":22" />. There were some veteran members of the squadron that were saying that there were some Bogeys. Joe could only see some clouds and didn't see anything else. He then proceeded to look down real low below him and saw a blue colored airplane chasing some brown airplane. He said<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":22" />:<blockquote>Well, I'm gonna go check him out.</blockquote>Joe took his plane down 2,000 feet, in which he now had four [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero|Zero]]<nowiki/>s in front of his eyes. He picked the Tail end Charlie and shot at him. He wasn't thinking of hurting anyone in that plane, but pieces started coming off from the rear plane and the zero blew up, while Joe passed him. He put his stick at full throtle. He now thinks that there's three Japanese planes behind him and thinks<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":22" />:<blockquote>Well gosh there's three zeros behind me I better get out of here.</blockquote>He rolled his Corsair over and started down, reaching [[compressibility]], in which his airframe couldn't take going faster down, but stayed resulting in his stick starting to jump around. He finally pulled out at about 9,000 feet<!--Look back is it 19,000 feet?--><ref name=":32" /><ref name=":22" /><ref name=":12" />. He then said<ref name=":22" />:<blockquote>I was going home</blockquote>He then proceeded back to base<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":32" /><ref name=":22" />. For Joe it was an exciting experience. He thought to himself:<ref name=":22" /><blockquote>Well this is what I have been looking for a long time.</blockquote>It was probably around this time of 12 April that it got announced to Joe and the other members that FDR passed away during his fourth term, a sad time for Joe and others as he was well thought of<ref name=":5" />. | ||
=== 13 April 1945 - Second Flight out of Okinawa === | === 13 April 1945 - Second Flight out of Okinawa === | ||
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In Joe's and others' mind, there was no doubt who was going to win the war. They knew that they were going to win and had confidence in themselves that they would achieve victory<ref name=":32" />. | In Joe's and others' mind, there was no doubt who was going to win the war. They knew that they were going to win and had confidence in themselves that they would achieve victory<ref name=":32" />. | ||
Joe did write letters home, however there wasn't anything special in their contents. It was mostly just the average "How were you doing" sort of thing. He didn't know how long it took to get the letter home<ref name=":5" />. | Joe did write letters home, mainly to his mother not his siblings, however there wasn't anything special in their contents. It was mostly just the average "How were you doing" sort of thing. He didn't know how long it took to get the letter home. | ||
On another note there were some natives of Okinawa that Joe would have encountered<ref name=":5" />. | |||
=== 15 June 1945 - Leaving Okinawa and going to Peleliu === | |||
On 15 June Joe and presumably the other Death Rattlers left Okinawa<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":12" />. They were transferred to the island of Peleliu from then on and would stay until the end of the war<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" />. At Peleliu they had Joe and the other members of the squadron flying in their Corsairs on missions not with bombs or other ordinance but as patrols. They were patrolling a specific island in the [[Palau|Palau island group]], the island of [[Babelthuap]]. Since it was a big island they had to keep checking if they were trying to put together an invasion of Peleliu<!-- 8:45 --><ref name=":5" />. They didn't know whether or not the Japanese were ever going to quit<ref name=":42" />. There was still the fear that, despite having gone up the island chain, the Japanese were going to attack from one of the other islands that they were still occupying. There were still a bunch of them on Babelthuap, which is where the fear of it came from. [[Anguar]] was another island that the Japanese occupied which was just off of Peleliu, as the US never bothered to go ashore. Despite all this searching effort they never found any ships<ref name=":5" />. | |||
On that topic Joe did indeed hear about some of the atrocities that the [[Japanese war crimes|Japanese had committed throughout the war]]. As such he did fear about getting captured, didn't want to, but luckily didn't become become a [[POW]]. He never heard any stories of being a POW from anyone he knew at the time since no one he knew was a POW. | |||
There were some natives of Peleliu that Joe would have encountered or seen<ref name=":5" /><!-- This was recorded from the section of the interview at around 1:00:000 in which he stated that on each island there were natives -->. | |||
Just like on Funafuti there were films, music, and other kinds of entertainment. There were a few music things on Peleliu, not as many as on Funafuti<ref name=":5" />. | |||
=== 6 August 1945 - First use of the atomic bomb === | === 6 August 1945 - First use of the atomic bomb === | ||
On 6 August 1945, the United States dropped their first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan. While on Peleliu, Joe heard about the news and they all knew about it. Up until this point there was no kind of indication that the United States was building the atomic bomb. At the time they were stopping any ordinance from being dropped by the planes on Japan, but kept on flying some. Despite this, Joe knew that something was up. Despite the bomb there was no kind of residue or anything coming their way. Hearing about the atomic bomb made him realize the enormity of it. Everyone was happy that it happened, maybe this would end the war they thought<ref name=":02" />. | On 6 August 1945, the United States dropped their first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan. Everyone including Joe up until that point had been expecting to participate in the invasion of the [[Japanese archipelago|home islands]]. They knew it was going to be tough trying to take those islands. While on Peleliu, Joe heard about the news and they all knew about it. They were thinking that one might have been enough, but turned out not to be so. The bomb was explained in what Joe saw as a weird deal, coving so much ground. They weren't shocked about the size of the bomb, just were happy about it. Up until this point there was no kind of indication that the United States was building the atomic bomb. At the time they were stopping any ordinance from being dropped by the planes on Japan, but kept on flying some. Despite this, Joe knew that something was up. Despite the bomb there was no kind of residue or anything coming their way. Hearing about the atomic bomb made him realize the enormity of it. Everyone was happy that it happened, maybe this would end the war they thought<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. | ||
=== 9 August 1945 - Second use of the bomb === | |||
The Americans eventually dropped the second bomb<ref name=":5" />. | |||
=== 15 August 1945 - Soviet Invasion of Manchuria === | |||
The [[Soviet Union]] eventually invaded [[Japanese occupied Manchuria]]. Joe and the others were happy to the news that the Russians were joining in helping them out<ref name=":5" />. | |||
=== 2 September 1945 - Surrender of Japan === | === 2 September 1945 - Surrender of Japan === | ||
On 2 September, the news spread out of that the [[Surrender of Japan]] was being signed, and so the war was ending. The people reacted by celebrating some on Peleliu. They claimed that on Okinawa that even some guys were injured celebrating firing guns, bullets going up they gotta go down<ref name=":02" />. | On 2 September, the news spread out of that the [[Surrender of Japan]] was being signed, and so the war was ending. The people reacted by celebrating some on Peleliu, specifically by drinking and partying. They claimed that on Okinawa that even some guys were injured celebrating firing guns, bullets going up they gotta go down<ref name=":02" />. | ||
In total throughout the course of the war, Joe flew 140 missions<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":02" />. | In total throughout the course of the war, Joe flew 140 missions<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":02" />. | ||
Throughout this entire war Joe had never come to admire any general he served under in particular, like the ones under [[MacCarthur]] did<ref name=":5" />. | |||
=== During or after September - Getting back home === | === During or after September - Getting back home === | ||
After the war was over Joe was trying to get back home in the United States. He went from Peleliu<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":02" /> to Guam, naturally wanting to fly home but wasn't able to. Therefore they waited around for about two weeks, put the group on a ship, this time not an LST, but instead a troop transport. | After the war was over Joe was trying to get back home in the United States. The Corsairs remained at Peleliu, in which they would eventually bring them home on the carriers. He went from Peleliu<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" /> to Guam, naturally wanting to fly home but wasn't able to. Therefore they set up there and waited around for about two weeks for a ship to get shipped back to the states, put the group on a ship, this time not an LST, but instead a troop transport. It was a two week trip, one which he felt was a pretty nice trip, not too bad<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. | ||
Throughout his whole time in the Corsair during the war, just like the Wildcat, there wasn't any particular one that he had a bond do, as he never flew the same plane hardly<ref name=":5" />. | |||
=== 12 October 1945 - Arriving back to San Diego === | === 12 October 1945 - Arriving back to San Diego === | ||
On 12 October, on [[Columbus Day]], Joe arrived back to San Diego, California. When they arrived there, Joe saw that there was a big airship that said<ref name=":02" />:<blockquote>Welcome</blockquote>on it. He thought it was neat that they had that. Other than that there wasn't much of a welcome home, the people there had settled down by then<ref name=":02" />. | On 12 October, on [[Columbus Day]], Joe arrived back to San Diego, California. When they arrived there, Joe saw that there was a big airship that said<ref name=":02" />:<blockquote>Welcome</blockquote>on it. He thought it was neat that they had that. People were indeed celebrating when they got back. Other than that there wasn't much of a welcome home, the people there had settled down by then<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. Since the last time that he had been in San Diego, the place had changed a lot, as there wasn't any war, and to Joe it seemed that everyone was pretty happy that the war ended. | ||
Having gotten back to San Diego Joe was just now hanging around and eventually got a ride with a guy in the car and drove all the way back home to either Corpus or Tyler<ref name=":5" />. | |||
=== October 1945 and after - Going back home to see family === | |||
After that Joe and the others went back home to see family. His father, having already passing away before American entry into the war, hadn't seen all that Joe had been up to. His mother though was still in Tyler. His sister that was born in 1910 didn't go into the service, and in Joe's eyes didn't think she went into the factories. His brother too didn't go into the service, but he didn't know what his two brothers were really up to. Since he only really corresponded with his mother he only really knew what she was up to. As it was, Tyler was just an old country town<ref name=":5" />. The local people reacted to people like Joe by wanting to know what was happening overseas. Joe got to talk to the [[Boy Scouts of America|Boy Scouts]] and at Church. Despite going back home and such, Joe was actually still in the military<ref name=":02" />. | |||
He enjoyed having gone home. It was emotional, especially since he hadn't seen his mother since back before he had gone to Corpus. He had never gotten any kind of leave to go see her or anything like that. She had feared that he was going to get shot down, although Joe never told her about having landed in the water. | |||
=== Before August 1946 - | After having been out at sea Joe began missing flying<ref name=":5" />. | ||
After that Joe went to the East Coast, specifically to [[Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point]] at [[Havelock, North Carolina|Havelock]], [[North Carolina]]. From there Joe got into an Infantry outfit that was bound to [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]], [[Puerto Rico]]. In this outfit Joe was assigned as a Forward Air Controller, specifically because he was an aviator, and they wanted aviators to direct planes and artillery. Having heard they wanted aviators on the ground, he didn't want to go, as he wanted to be flying, but was made as a Forward Air Controller anyways. | |||
=== Before August 1946 - Going to Cherry Point, NC, meeting wife, and stationed in Puerto Rico and coming back === | |||
After that Joe went to the East Coast, specifically to [[Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point]] at [[Havelock, North Carolina|Havelock]], [[North Carolina]]<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. | |||
It might have been here that he met his future wife. At the Marine Corps base he met [[Naomi McPhail|Naomi]], a tower operator, a Master Sergeant. Joe, her, and a couple of other girls went on a trip up to Washington D.C., in which Joe and Naomi got to be good friends<ref name=":5" />. | |||
From there Joe got into an Infantry outfit that was bound to [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]], [[Puerto Rico]]. In this outfit Joe was assigned as a Forward Air Controller, specifically because he was an aviator, and they wanted aviators to direct planes and artillery. Having heard they wanted aviators on the ground, he didn't want to go, as he wanted to be flying, but was made as a Forward Air Controller anyways. | |||
Before getting there, they wanted Joe and others to take salt tablets due to it being hot and sweaty. He took a couple of them, and proceeded to throw up. He thought that maybe it was too much salt or something like that. They made landing in Puerto Rico and Joe had to go down the rope ladders and that kind of business. | Before getting there, they wanted Joe and others to take salt tablets due to it being hot and sweaty. He took a couple of them, and proceeded to throw up. He thought that maybe it was too much salt or something like that. They made landing in Puerto Rico and Joe had to go down the rope ladders and that kind of business. | ||
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They stayed in Puerto Rico for about a month, then went back to Cherry Point<ref name=":02" />. | They stayed in Puerto Rico for about a month, then went back to Cherry Point<ref name=":02" />. | ||
=== 1 August 1946 - Getting off of Cherry Point === | === 1 August 1946 - Getting off of Cherry Point and going back to Dallas with Naomi, getting married === | ||
On 1 August 1946 Joe was able to finally get off of the base at Cherry Point. That day he encountered the Dispersing Officer (also known as the paymaster), who told Joe<ref name=":02" />:<blockquote>You know if you go fly four hours, I'll give you flight pay</blockquote>Joe, obviously wanting this flight pay, responded<ref name=":02" />:<blockquote>I'll be back</blockquote>He went to get the four hours done, and came back to get his pay, around $120. Then he left Cherry Point<ref name=":02" />. | On 1 August 1946 Joe was able to finally get off of the base at Cherry Point. That day he encountered the Dispersing Officer (also known as the paymaster), who told Joe<ref name=":02" />:<blockquote>You know if you go fly four hours, I'll give you flight pay</blockquote>Joe, obviously wanting this flight pay, responded<ref name=":02" />:<blockquote>I'll be back</blockquote>He went to get the four hours done, and came back to get his pay, around $120. Then he left Cherry Point<ref name=":02" />. He went back to Dallas, and Naomi was able to get out and go to Dallas as well, in which she began to work for [[Delta Airlines]] in their reservation system. Eventually the two got married and she would begin to have kids. To Joe she would and had a pretty good career<!-- He claims that the things are mixed up and believes that the thing with Naomi was during the Korean war, despite what it seems like from other sources: | ||
When did you initially meet in NC? Heck lets see, these times are running together, I don't remember. No it was during the Korean thing. Her name was Naomi, the named grandchild Naomi. Seems like she had a pretty good career, yeah right. --><ref name=":5" />. | |||
=== September 1946 - Enrollment into SMU === | === September 1946 - Enrollment into SMU === | ||
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=== June 1950 - Beginning of the Korean War === | === June 1950 - Beginning of the Korean War === | ||
In June 1950, the Korean War began<ref name=":02" />. | In June 1950, the Korean War began<ref name=":02" />. Joe and nearly everyone else in the United States at the time were opposed to Communism, especially those of the Chinese, and opposed to its expansion<ref name=":5" />. | ||
=== 1 August 1950 - Called up to join the conflict === | === 1 August 1950 - Called up to join the conflict === | ||
On 1 August 1950 Joe and his squadron were called up<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":42" />. Joe was ready to finally get back into the cockpit. Him and other people, in Joe's mind, were honorable people. They wanted to win and protect the country<ref name=":32" />. | On 1 August 1950 Joe and his squadron were called up<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":42" />. He had already begun working for a Gas transmission company as a corporate pilot. He then after was called up for service to El Toro<ref name=":5" />. Joe know that he was subject to being called up and was excited and ready to finally get back into the cockpit. His mother on the other hand would have been or probably wasn't all that happy that he was going back but there wasn't anything she could do about it<ref name=":5" />. | ||
Him and other people, in Joe's mind, were honorable people. They wanted to win and protect the country<ref name=":32" />. | |||
=== August to October 1950 - Training for the war === | === August to October 1950 - Training for the war === | ||
For two or three weeks they stayed in Dallas and then went to El Toro, California. There he stayed at [[Laguna Beach Hotel]], which he thought was a nice place. It was 12 miles from the base and so they had a bus to go from there and back. At the hotel they had a pool and other kinds of things like that, nice stuff for the time<ref name=":5" />. There they did even more training, specifically some instruments training. At El Toro he became friends with a guy named [[Bowland]], who was from California, and who was training with him<!--41:35?-->. They even went down to El Centro, which was kind of in the Imperial Valley of California. There they did some training in some Wildcats. They didn't have any Corsairs as they were overseas, the thing that they were really going to fly for the war<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. | For two or three weeks they stayed in Dallas and then went to El Toro, California. There he stayed again at [[Laguna Beach Hotel]], which he thought was a nice place<!-- Look back at info about Laguna Beach Hotel -->. It was 12 miles from the base and so they had a bus to go from there and back. At the hotel they had a pool and other kinds of things like that, nice stuff for the time<ref name=":5" />. There they did even more training, specifically some instruments training. At El Toro he became friends with a guy named [[Bowland]], who was from California, and who was training with him<!--41:35?-->. They even went down to El Centro, which was kind of in the Imperial Valley of California. There they did some training in some Wildcats. They didn't have any Corsairs as they were overseas, the thing that they were really going to fly for the war<ref name=":32" /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. | ||
Throughout the time that they were training, they were informed that they were going to Wonsan in North Korea<ref name=":5" />. | |||
This whole time Joe's wife went along with him to these places. She was also expecting to deliver a child, so went back and stayed with Joe's mother, assumingly in Tyler, driving back by herself<ref name=":02" />. | This whole time Joe's wife went along with him to these places. She was also expecting to deliver a child, so went back and stayed with Joe's mother, assumingly in Tyler, driving back by herself<ref name=":02" />. | ||
=== October 1950 - Going to Korea === | === October 1950 - Going to Korea === | ||
In October 1950 Joe and his squadron went overseas to Korea. That month he reported to [[ | In October 1950 Joe and his squadron went overseas to Korea. That month he reported to [[Wonsan, North Korea|Wonsan]], [[North Korea]]. Joe was part of [[VMFA-214 (United States)|VFMA-214]], the [[Black Sheep Squadron]], which already had a bunch of veterans in it, not any from 323 squadron<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":42" /><ref name=":5" />. When he was in Wonsan Joe visited the town. To him it was just a regular town. This whole time in Korea they were to fly Corsairs, not getting the chance to fly [[F84|F84s]] or [[F86|F86s]]. Although Joe did want to fly jets, he was content with flying the Corsair again. Since they weren't going into jets Joe never went down into [[MiG Alley]]<ref name=":5" />.<!--For some reason on the part 2 interview he says that he was deployed to Korea in January of 1950, but this goes contrary to his other interviews. Have to look into this further-->A typical flying there was about two and a half to three hours, sometimes longer. During these missions they were bombers, taking ordinance and bombing something. They would go on what was called an Armored Reconnaissance Mission, flying up over roads looking for anything they had. Him and the members of his squadron were told that everything north is free game. Joe was fired upon, not many times hit though, as he was too fast. He could see the orange balls coming up at him. The goal, at least for Joe, was to have 100 missions. During those missions not once was he ever shot down, felt blessed about it<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. | ||
While in Wonsan there wasn't any particular incidents it was just all day job work for him there. | |||
During his time there Bob Hope, part of the USO, flew into Wonsan, and the Marines landed at Incheon on the West Coast of the Korean Penninsula and had to come around to land at Wonsan. They hadn't cleared the harbor of the mines and so they set out there for about two weeks. Bob Hope flew in and so kids the Marines saying<ref name=":02" />:<blockquote>I had to get Wonsan ready for them.</blockquote>Joe had never actually gotten to see Bob Hope during his time in Korea<ref name=":02" />. | What gave him satisfaction was when they conducted [[Close Air Support|CAS]], as he felt it was helping the guys on the ground. Like at Okinawa, in Korea they also had Forward Air Controllers. Some of the members of his squadron did get shot down while providing CAS, but Joe never did. He never even encountered a MiG-15. They wanted the Air Force to take care of the MiGs, as they had F86s and other planes that could counter it. They didn't tell Joe and others in the Corsair what to do if they encountered one, but he thinks that they could probably outturn them<ref name=":5" />. | ||
During his time there Bob Hope, part of the USO, flew into Wonsan<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":02" />, and the Marines landed at Incheon on the West Coast of the Korean Penninsula and had to come around to land at Wonsan. They hadn't cleared the harbor of the mines and so they set out there for about two weeks. Bob Hope flew in and so kids the Marines saying<ref name=":02" />:<blockquote>I had to get Wonsan ready for them.</blockquote>Joe had never actually gotten to see Bob Hope during his time in Korea<ref name=":02" />. Despite this Joe did like Bob Hope<ref name=":5" />. | |||
=== Most memorable day in Korea, 150 planes attacking Sinuiju North Korea === | === Most memorable day in Korea, 150 planes attacking Sinuiju North Korea === | ||
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=== November to December 1950 - At Yonpo === | === November to December 1950 - At Yonpo === | ||
During the [[Battle of the Chosin Resevoir]], Joe and his squadron went to be stationed at [[Yonpo Air Base]], nearby [[Hamhung]]<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":02" />. Because of where they were at, which was at 5,000 ft in altitude the planes didn't do quite as well on the ground, the higher you went the worse it got<ref name=":42" />. The guys had it a tough time at the Resevoir, all disabled in some way, just mauled from the weather and freeze. They didn't have the right equipment either<ref name=":02" />. | The UN forces were still pushing North and winning against the North Koreans, and it seemed that they were going to win. He never did meet any other members of the UN forces (other than the Americans). He didn't even meet South Korean soldiers either, but thought that they were pretty good fighters. During the [[Battle of the Chosin Resevoir]], Joe and his squadron went to be stationed at [[Yonpo Air Base]], nearby [[Hamhung]], which was as far North as Joe was going to go<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. Because of where they were at, which was at 5,000 ft in altitude the planes didn't do quite as well on the ground, the higher you went the worse it got<ref name=":42" />. The guys had it a tough time at the Resevoir, all disabled in some way, just mauled from the weather and freeze. They didn't have the right equipment either<ref name=":02" />. | ||
Joe and his squadron didn't have air to air, but they did a lot of Close Air Support<ref name=":42" />. | Joe and his squadron didn't have air to air, but they did a lot of Close Air Support<ref name=":42" />. | ||
=== After December 1950 - Aboard the carrier Sicily === | === After December 1950, 1951 - Aboard the carrier Sicily === | ||
Afterwards, 214 | Afterwards for about two months, someone or some people wanted the 214 to operate off a carrier, and so assigned them aboard the [[USS Sicily]], a [[jeep carrier]], only 600ft long. Unfortunately they were told that the squadron wasn't carrier qualified, and so were sent to Japan to get carrier qualified. They conducted Field Carrier Landing Practice in which they had a landing LSO (Landing Signal Officer), who would wave you in and gives you cut, land and take off and come around and do it again. Because the Sicily was an escort carrier being only 600ft long, it was a little more hard to learn it. He was still flying a Corsair when they were flying off of the Sicily<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. This was the only time that Joe had ever been assigned onto a carrier throughout his career, every other time he had been land based<ref name=":5" />. | ||
There was one particular incident that Joe made a memory of. They taxied him and his Corsair onto the catapult the first time, and as soon as they hooked his plane they gave him the "offbreak" signal. Him and the other people sat there and watched them shoot the guy on his right side off the carrier, to which then Joe and another man or other people saluted and pulled the cord to it and he took off. He came back to the ready room to find that there was a sign up on the chalkboard on the wall saying<ref name=":5" />:<blockquote>McPhail reluctant warrior</blockquote>Joe then asked someone<ref name=":5" />:<blockquote>What's wrong? </blockquote>Someone replied:<blockquote>You took off with your breaks on</blockquote>Joe knew that he poured the cold all to it, his feet automatically unintentionally went on the break. Therefore they could see the blue smoke coming out, but thankfully there wasn't any damage to the plane<ref name=":5" />. | |||
For a while they flew out of Japan when they got run out of North Korea. When he was in Japan on R and R, and he would go withdraw my money and they had taken that flight pay out of my pay<ref name=":02" />. | For a while they flew out of Japan when they got run out of North Korea. When he was in Japan on R and R, and he would go withdraw my money and they had taken that flight pay out of my pay<ref name=":02" />. | ||
=== July 1951 - Ten months over === | === July 1951 - Ten months over === | ||
After ten months, and 102 missions being completed<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":42" />, Joe got out of 214. He was put into what was called a Group and Joe was a Briefing Officer briefing flights before they went. He did that until it was time for him to go back home<ref name=":02" />. | After ten months, and 102 missions being completed (the 100 missions required)<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":42" />, Joe got out of 214. He was put into what was called a Group and Joe was a Briefing Officer briefing flights before they went. He did that until it was time for him to go back home<ref name=":02" />. | ||
In total, Joe had around 242 missions with Korea and WWII combined, got two planes shot down, a zero and a Nate<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":42" />. He had a total of 1025 hours of flight in the Corsair, never had an accident or anything<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":22" />. He also had flown a total of 4000 hours during the wars<ref name=":42" />. As such Joe was pretty well impressed with it and its power. He at some point before or after got wind of the fact that the Japanese called the Corsair "the Whistling Death"<ref name=":22" />. | In total, Joe had around 242 missions with Korea and WWII combined, got two planes shot down, a zero and a Nate<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":42" />. He had a total of 1025 hours of flight in the Corsair, never had an accident or anything<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":22" />. He also had flown a total of 4000 hours during the wars<ref name=":42" />. As such Joe was pretty well impressed with it and its power. He at some point before or after got wind of the fact that the Japanese called the Corsair "the Whistling Death"<ref name=":22" />. | ||
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It was also at this time that he probably had his two [[Distinguished Flying Cross]]<nowiki/>es. He had the highest ribbon of the Distinguished Flying Cross<ref name=":42" />. | It was also at this time that he probably had his two [[Distinguished Flying Cross]]<nowiki/>es. He had the highest ribbon of the Distinguished Flying Cross<ref name=":42" />. | ||
Post war Joe didn't stay much in touch with his companions during the war, he was busy with the company that he worked at<ref name=":5" />. | |||
=== August 1951 - Coming back home === | === August 1951 - Coming back home === | ||
In August 1951 Joe got home. Unfortunately he wasn't able to find a job. At the time he was still a Captain, now in the reserve. He didn't do much to get recognition at the time, but finally was able to make major at some point during the year 1951<ref name=":02" />. | In August 1951 Joe got home. Unfortunately he wasn't able to find a job. At the time he was still a Captain, now in the reserve. He didn't do much to get recognition at the time, but finally was able to make major at some point during the year 1951<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. | ||
For his career and service maybe even after he had gotten out Joe had received 2 [[Distinguished Flying Crosse|Distinguished Flying Crosses]] and 11 [[Air Medal|Air Medals]]<ref name=":5" />. | |||
Although he damaged or destroyed some of his Wildcats, he never broke a Corsair throughout his time in them<ref name=":5" />. | |||
=== 1952 to 1955 - Stationed at NAS Dallas === | === 1952 to 1955 - Stationed at NAS Dallas === | ||
After Korea, from 1952 to 1955 Joe was stationed at NAS Dallas. He was the Executive Officer of the Marine Training Detachment, where they were training Weekend Warriors like Joe was when he was called up to service originally at NAS Dallas around 11 years before. [[Earl Growind]]<!--40:25 LOC interview-->, a real good friend of Joe's, was stationed there as the CO, who got Joe stationed there. | After Korea, for two years from 1952 to 1955 Joe was stationed at NAS Dallas<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":02" />. Despite this he was still in the reserve<ref name=":5" />. He was the Executive Officer of the Marine Training Detachment in a training squadron, where they were training Weekend Warriors like Joe was when he was called up to service originally at NAS Dallas around 11 years before. [[Earl Growind]]<!--40:25 LOC interview-->, a real good friend of Joe's, was stationed there as the CO, who got Joe stationed there<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. At some point Joe went out of California again but never went overseas. In a way he hoped to go in again to get his time in. As a Weekend Warrior he sometimes had to drive to California for two weeks active duty and then drive back. Did training for CAS and all that kind of stuff<ref name=":5" />. | ||
==== Around 1955 - Working at the Gas Transmission Company ==== | |||
After that he stayed to work for the Trunkline Gas Company/Gas Transmission Company based out of [[Houston, Texas|Houston]] as well as [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]] where he would fly executives, people, among others as a corporate pilot, flying some of the high officials of the company, and personally got to know some of them. Joe thought that they were nice, appreciating his transportation. The president of the company served as a Washerman<!-- 33:10 --> during the war. His boss was also a Marine aviator from the war. Some other people that he flew were in the war as well. The company's pipeline started in the [[Rio Grande]] in Texas, and went to the [[Michigan]] border in [[Indiana]], right through the heart of the country, about [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] and around that way. Since Joe was still in the reserve, he had to go to NAS Dallas on the weekends. His boss didn't like it when Joe went on the weekends because it meant that he had to fly in his place<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5" />. Throughout his career there he flew Cesna 310, Twin Beach, Lone Star, Howard 500, Jet Star, and a J2<ref name=":5" />. | |||
After he had gotten out, Joe decided to stay in the reserve until he was able to receive 20 years satisfactory service to get paid. He already had 9 years of active duty under his belt, and so did the rest as a weekend warrior type. He had to get 50 points per year to get satisfactory service. Since his boss didn't like him being out, he got out but stayed in what was called a volunteer training unit until he got his 20 years<ref name=":02" />. | After he had gotten out, Joe decided to stay in the reserve until he was able to receive 20 years satisfactory service to get paid. He already had 9 years of active duty under his belt, and so did the rest as a weekend warrior type. He had to get 50 points per year to get satisfactory service. Since his boss didn't like him being out, he got out but stayed in what was called a volunteer training unit until he got his 20 years<ref name=":02" />. | ||
=== 1955 - Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and then Colonel === | === 1955 - Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and then Colonel === | ||
In 1955 Joe was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, at the time at NAS Dallas. That year, Joe wrote a letter to Marine Corps Headquarters. A guy who was called up to serve in Korea alongside Joe, named <!--47:25 LOC interview-->, wrote Joe back a letter saying<ref name=":02" />:<blockquote>You know, if its not imperative you get out, you're in a zone for bird colonel</blockquote>Joe responded back enthousiaticly<ref name=":02" />:<blockquote>Cancel my request!</blockquote> | In 1955 Joe was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, at the time at NAS Dallas. He had been getting promoted throughout his career due to having clinged to the service, not particularly due to any action, but was a respectable pilot<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":02" />. That year, Joe wrote a letter to Marine Corps Headquarters. A guy who was called up to serve in Korea alongside Joe, named <!--47:25 LOC interview-->, wrote Joe back a letter saying<ref name=":02" />:<blockquote>You know, if its not imperative you get out, you're in a zone for bird colonel</blockquote>Joe responded back enthousiaticly<ref name=":02" />:<blockquote>Cancel my request!</blockquote>Therefore Joe was able to make bird colonel. They partially made him colonel due to his time of service<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":02" />. | ||
=== Joining the Chosin Few === | === Joining the Chosin Few === | ||
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=== 10 October 1981 - Officially out of the USMC === | === 10 October 1981 - Officially out of the USMC === | ||
On 10 October 1981 Joe was officially out of the United States Marine Corps. He got out at this time because he was 60, and that was when you get your pay 20 years satisfactory service. By this time and with his service in the company, Joe had around 17,000 flight hours (4000 of which was from the wars)<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":02" />. | On 10 October 1981 Joe was officially out of the United States Marine Corps. He got out at this time because he was 60, and that was when you get your pay 20 years satisfactory service. By this time and with his service in the company, Joe had around 17,000 flight hours (4000 of which was from the wars)<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":02" />. | ||
=== Around 1987 - Retiring from the gas company === | |||
After being employed at the gas company in Houston for 32 years, Joe finally retired<ref name=":5" />. | |||
=== 20 January 2014 - Interview in Dickinson, Texas === | === 20 January 2014 - Interview in Dickinson, Texas === | ||
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Joe at the end of the interview said that he felt blessed to have done all of it, and would do it all over again<ref name=":42" />. | Joe at the end of the interview said that he felt blessed to have done all of it, and would do it all over again<ref name=":42" />. | ||
=== 19 October 2023 - Interview in his own home by Paul Sidle of the WWII Archives === | |||
On 19 October 2023 Joe conducted an interview with Paul Sidle from the WWII Archives. | |||
At the end of the interview Paul asked Joe<ref name=":5" />:<blockquote>What advice would you give to future generations?</blockquote>Joe responded<ref name=":5" />:<blockquote>Well I wanted to fly fighters, and I chose the Marine Corps, and they didn't have any patroll planes or transports or anything like that. And I think that anybody that wanted to fly fighters, they should choose the Marine Corps.</blockquote>Joe didn't think that the Marine Corps Air Force was in any particular way superior to that of the Air Force. It was just his personal preference<ref name=":5" />. | |||
== Citations == | == Citations == | ||
| Line 428: | Line 472: | ||
=== Interview 1 on LOC.gov === | === Interview 1 on LOC.gov === | ||
=== History of the 323 === | === History of the 323 === | ||
https://archive.org/details/AHistoryOfMarineFighterAttackSquadron323/mode/2up?q=McPhail | https://archive.org/details/AHistoryOfMarineFighterAttackSquadron323/mode/2up?q=McPhail | ||
Revision as of 00:45, 30 November 2023
Joe McPhail | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 October 1921 |
Joe McPhail was a US Marine Corps Aviation pilot during WWII and the Korean war. He first went overseas into VMF-441 in Wildcats, not doing much during that time. He then participated in VFMA-323, the Death Rattlers. After WWII ended he was called up into VMFA-214, the Black Sheep Squadron, during the Korean War.
Video link to the interview here: https://archive.org/details/img-2527_202310
https://americanwarriors.com/project/joe-mcphail/
https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.94714/
https://ww2fighters.blogspot.com/2016/04/profile-118-finishedyessir-as-flown-by.html
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1955564824516896
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4SL-5P3
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4L4C-GCMM
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4LLM-YKZM
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XGB-MGWT
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K43F-XH6
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HFX7-9PZ
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15566052/claydie-mae-phelps
Before birth
1910 - Birth of sister
In 1910 Joe's sister was born[1].
1917 - Second older brother born
In 1917 Joe's other future brother was born[1].
Childhood
10 October 1921 Birth in Grand Saline
Joe McPhail was born to his parents Homer and Fanny McPhail on 10 October 1921 in the small town of Grand Saline, a place in Van Zandt County in East Texas, which sat on Highway 80 between Dallas and Freeport, and had a population of around 1200[1][2][3]. Joe was named without a middle name, so his full name was just Joe McPhail[2].
At that time, Joe's sister, who had been born in 1910, was already 11 at the time. Their mother worked in the house, no external job. His father was a Railroad Commissioner, and so had to travel a lot[1].
1921 to 1937 - Living in Grand Saline
Between when Joe was born and in 1937 him and his family lived in Grand Saline. In school he wasn't a very good student, not very good in the way that he didn't do well on grades, assignments, and such. He always had trouble remembering things in High School as well, was a bad test taker that sort of thing. It was because of these experiences that he personally wasn't very fond of school. Despite this he didn't get into much trouble in school, tried to be honest and doing what he thought was the right thing. He did have some friends at school however.
His dad on the other hand was a groceryman, and worked for a company in Grand Saline. At the time he also ran for the Van Zandt County Tax Assessor-Collector. He then was elected as Tax Assessor-Collector for four years. After that he had a grocery store and stayed in it for a while. This would have been within the time that they were in both Grand Saline and Tyler.
Even though his father was involved in political business, Joe himself then and going forward didn't have any particular political opinions[2].
Christmases and other holidays for the McPhails
At the time of festivities the McPhails celebrated Christmas. For them the holiday was a pretty big deal for them. They got their tree from places that grew pine trees, and always got presents for the tree. Joe wished for guns, fishing equipment, things like that.
For the Fourth of July they didn't do much. They used some fireworks but that was just about it[2].
1929 - Great Depression begins
In 1929 the Great Depression began. It hit the McPhails making things pretty tough for them. They didn't have a lot of money and would from now on make the ends meet. While their father was Tax Assessor-Collector, he owned a Chevrolet which had wheels on the fenders, kind of two extras of them. Him and his family wouldn't travel far in them, never went outside of Texas given the size of the state[2].
1930 - Younger brother born
In 1930 Joe's younger brother Gale (?) was born, 20 years since their older brother was born. This made a total of four children, one girl, and three boys[1].
When Joe was 9 years of age, he wasn't very much involved in any of the New Deal Programs initiated by FDR. He didn't really think about the war that was going on outside of the country either[2].
1937 - Moving to Tyler
In the year 1937, since Homer had a cousin who was pretty big into county politics, he decided to get into county business and go work for his cousin. Therefore that year the McPhails moved to Tyler in Texas. There Joe stayed and would remain there for the remainder of his time in high school and graduated from there.
Moving from Grand Saline Joe did miss some friends that he had there
Joe had a brother and a sister, Hugh McPhail and Claydmine McPhail.
Joe remembers that his father was a hard worker, and how he would kill the hog (that they presumably had) in the fall, to Joe it was good seeing the hog meat you got out of it. As for his mother, she was a home body, didn't do much else, cooked good food though. His siblings though were quite a bit older than he was and so Joe always looked up to them. Despite them being siblings they never bothered each other, never getting in any particular fights.
In Tyler at school Joe had some friends. One of which that it seemed he counted was his cousin Lloyd Ray who was also living in Tyler and a little younger than Joe was[2].
While in Tyler Joe liked to play sports, in particular or at least one of them being Baseball. He played as First Baseman and him and his team didn't really get far in competing against other ones, mainly just playing locally. He wasn't really good at it, but still enjoyed it. One of the main reasons that he played was because there wasn't much else to do around.
Another source of entertainment that they had there was fishing which Joe liked to do. The biggest thing he ever caught was an 11 lbs Black Bass in Tyler.
Joe never was someone to get into mischevious things and get in trouble.
Outside of school Joe had some neighbors and friends that he and his family would hang out with. There were these neighbors they were good friends with that they would play Baseball, fished and all that with, known by their name the Sheppards.
As for other entertainment, from Joe's perspective they didn't have a radio. The local newspaper that they had was the Tyler Morning Telegraph, and Joe at some point picked up the job of delivering this newspaper around to people, and he wasn't paid too much since it was during the times of the Great Depression. Joe even had the job (and maybe this was before in Grand Saline as well) to mow lawns.
Important to Joe's future, there was an airfield nearby where he lived, Tyler Pounds Field. There he started his experience watching planes and beginning his interest in them[2].
Adulthood
10 October 1939 - Becoming 18 years old
On 10 October 1939, Joe would have turned 18 years old, becoming an adult.
Before June 1939 - Graduating from High School and moving to Corpus Christi
Before summer 1941, Joe graduated from High School, or Junior College, in 1939 in Tyler. His father had gone to work by this time as being a worker of the state, specifically a Railroad Commissioner, and so he was sent to be at Corpus Christi. After graduating High School therefore the family began moving to Corpus[1][2][3] After he graduated Joe went into Junior College[2]. While in Junior College Joe, because Naval Air Station Corpus Christi was nearby, he saw many different guys in uniform in and around town[1]. It was that and probably some other reasons that convinced him that he wanted to be a pilot[2].
Between June 1939 and June 1941 - Completing sixty hours of college
Between graduating from High School in 1939 and Summer 1941, Joe would have completed sixty hours worth of college[1].
1940 - Death of Joe's father
In the year 1940, at the age of 53 years, Joe's father passed away. He had cancer but Joe and others think that they had Tuberculosis (TB), but then they didn't really know much about Cancer[1].
June to July 1941 - Spending time in Civilian Pilot Training
The summer after Joe graduated from junior college, Joe decided to enroll into Civilian Pilot Training, called and abbreviated as CPT by Joe. He specifically enrolled into the one in Tyler. CPT was a government program that Joe enjoyed because he got exposed to planes for the first time and got to fly for about thirty to fourty hours that summer. He would fly Piper J-3 Cubs, which were tail draggers. The plane was pretty primitive, you had to spin the prop to start it, like an old automobile. It didn't have any breaks, and so Joe and the other pilots would taxi back up and park up kind of on a hill[1][2]. At CPT Joe had an instructor named Frinefruk (which was his last name). He also had a friend he either knew or met there at CPT named John Ralphus[2].
During that time he really got hooked into flying and so wanting to continue, knew that he wanted to be an aviator and liked to fly[1][2][4]. It was after he was done with CPT in Tyler he went down to Corpus[2].
At first decided to go into the Navy at the time to be a Navy pilot, because Naval Air Station Corpus Christi (NAS Corpus Christi) was nearby. Having seen all the guys in uniform back since high school also contributed to his thinking that joining the Navy would be for him. He had also asked if he could be a fighter pilot. However he discovered that in 1941 the Navy required that you be 20 years of age as well as have sixty hours of college. He did indeed have already the sixty hours of college, but wasn't 20 yet. That would require him to wait for his birthday that year of 10 October 1941[1][2][4].
10 October 1941 - Turning 20 years old
On 10 October Joe finally turned 20 years old and so was now able to join the Navy. Because he volunteered to join up, Joe never received a draft number. Joe's mother didn't resist when he enlisted, wasn't upset about it. It wasn't because he was the oldest brother [1].
18 October 1941 - Official join date of the US Military
On 18 October 1941, eight days after turning 20, Joe was sworn into the Navy in downtown Dallas, at Naval Air Station Dallas. There he became a Weekend Warrior[1][2]. John Ralphus and some other guys would also follow Joe from CPT into NAS Dallas. At this time Joe and John were together quite a bit and good friends[2]. It is assumed that after some time he left Dallas and went back home.
Before or during 4 December 1941 - Being called up to NAS Dallas again
Sometime before or during 4 December, Joe was called up to come back up to NAS Dallas[1][4]. The language used in the sources here aren't totally clear, was he called up on exactly 4 December or was he called to be at NAS Dallas by 4 December?
4 December 1941 - Arriving to NAS Dallas
On Thursday 4 December 1941 Joe would have arrived to NAS Dallas to start Flight School[1][4][3][2]. It is presumed that John Ralphus also joined NAS Dallas on this date or around this date[2]. When he was there he was a Seaman Second Class. His pay at this time in Dallas was $36 a month[1].
But then as Aviation cadet he would make 75 dollars, he had money he couldn't really buy or even spend on much around, no place to spend it[1].
At this time there was no indication or sign that could be seen of an imminent war with the United States. Neither Joe nor anyone else believed something was going to happen[2].
7 December 1941 - News of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Around 1200
Around noon on Sunday 7 December 1941, three days after Joe had just arrived to NAS Dallas[4][3][1][2], Joe and the other people at the base heard the news about the attack on Pearl Harbor. Upon hearing the news Joe thought to himself[2]:
Well, got myself in a mess here
Specifically he was thinking about getting in in time for war[2]. Most people didn't even know where Pearl Harbor was. In any case, Joe and the others were ordered to start patrolling the perimeter from then on around the Air Station. Despite being given this role, they weren't given any bullets. All they were doing were walking the fence line patrolling, without a mean to defend themselves[1].
After 7 December 1941
After Pear Harbor, Joe remained at NAS Dallas for only a short period of time. In any case, the base continued to maintain security, as they were afraid that the Japanese Americans would rise up against them. As such they stayed busy at the base. There were two Marine Sergeants who had an influence on McPhail, who thought that they were taking care of the aviation cadets.
NAS Dallas, for the men that were there along with Joe, called it "E Base" or "Elimination Base", due to the fact that the people above them wanted to see if you could fly before sending them to NAS Corpus Christi. During this time they were testing the cadets' capabilities as a pilot. Unlike Joe, there weren't many cadets that participated in CPT, and so Joe had a rung up there above almost everyone else, so it was pretty easy for him[1].
For the flying part, Joe and the others weren't flying Piper Cubs like at CPT, but instead N3Ns which were built by the Naval Aircraft Factory, which didn't make too many planes. N3Ns were older models that were steel fabric biplanes with open twin cockpit trainer biplanes as well as tail draggers. Joe thought that they were good planes and pretty easy to fly. He could do acrobatics with it, loops, rolls, things like that. They had big wings, and a stick instead of a wheel for control[1][2]. They were apparently not actually using it for training. [2].
The most complicated maneuver that Joe had ever done was such: You would wheel the plane up to the top in the air, then roll over at the top of the loop, and pull a lot of G's in the process[2].
During this time of training there weren't really any incidents, Joe himself didn't have any accidents. Others did have accidents. There were some guys that had ground loop[2].
As for life there, to Joe it was pretty regular. As a reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor everyone was anxious to get overseas, including Joe. They did have a dislike for the Japanese people, they kind of thought that they did Pearl Harbor and that it was wrong for them to have done it. During the war the Japanese-Americans were interned. For Joe and others it wasn't really a big deal, they had them in camps and so him and others never did get involved with them[2] .
After he started flying, getting his four hours in, Joe got a $18 raise from his $36 a month, to $54, a 50% increase in salary[1].
Going to Corpus Christi
When Joe was transferred to Corpus for more training[5][1], he was made an Aviation Cadet from a Seaman Second Class. He started flying Stearman planes, which he thought were big and strong. He flew a lot of different kinds of planes then. A flying day for the generally consisted of first going to grad school for half a day, and then fly half a day. But they had a syllabus they would go through, start out elementary things, then do more complicated things. Joe liked doing Acrobatics, seeing it as fun for him. He thought the experience at Corpus was pretty interesting in of itself. As an Aviation Cadet at Corpus he would now make $75, and despite now having money, he couldn't really buy much of anything as there wasn't much stuff or places around to spend it.
He would fly the Stearmans at Broadfield, then move on to flying Cabinets. Eventually he got to fly a Vought OS2U Kingfisher, a first line observational plane, which the Navy even had on cruisers, in which they would catapult them off and recover them with a sled like thing to then reel it in. In the OS2U he even got to do some water landings. They also had landing planks too, fixed landing gear, but Joe thought it was pretty neat. One time Joe in the Kingfisher climbed all the way to 9,000ft in altitude. He thought to himself[1]:
Boy is this something!
After being in the Kingfisher he went through instruments school. At that time he decided that he wanted to fly fighters. Unfortunately, everyone wanted to fly fighters. He was told that the Marine Corps was the best place to go for that, and believed it, especially of the fact that the Marine Corps didn't have as many scout planes as the Navy did[1][4]. He figured that that was the cheapest way to get into fighters, let them pay for it[4]. That is why he chose to switch over into the Marine Corps[1].
October 1942 - Getting his wings
In October 1942, after ten months of training, Joe finished his training and got his wings afterwards[1][4][3][2]. This was the time that he officially transferred from the Navy to the Marine Corps, all it being was a paper transfer, no formality of anything like that. As such he went to Opa-Lacka Air Station in Miami, Florida for what they called Pre-operationals training. There they flew what the Navy called SNJs and what the USAAF called AT-6s. He had, however, flown these in Kingsville during fighter training[5][1].
At Opa-Locka they conducted Field Carrier Landing Practice, abbreviated as FCLP, as if going aboard carriers. It was a different kind of landing than they were used to. They did fly other planes, the N2. Joe got to fly what they were calling the F2A, known as the Brewster Buffalo. He thought it was kind of a weird plane. It didn't have a hydraulic system, and as such there were six to seven ways to get the landing gear down. One of such ways was to use the pair of dykes on board to cut the cable, which was the last resort, if the crank wasn't working[1].
December 1942 - Going to San Diego, California
In December, Joe and John were transferred to NAS North Island, San Diego, California to wait to go overseas[1][2][3]. There John, being his good friend, was Joe's roommate at the place they were staying. The whole West Coast was locked down. Joe and others would go into town, be tourists, and to Joe it was pretty. To him he thought that everybody was ready to be behind the war effort, especially in the West Coast. In San Diego there were blackouts, as well as guards posted around the city. Joe and others (within his unit) had to have ID cards to get in and out of the base. At the time they never heard of the Battle of Los Angeles.
While there at North Island they were training to get in some time in planes. There there were even some Piper Cubs that they got to fly[2].
- 4:00 They had problems with the first the "oly O's" had aall air ratio and it hit bounce and the british solved that problem thats the reason the Marine Corps got them the Navy didn't want to they were having trouble.
I was at North Island in San Diego in December 42, and they were bouncing the Corsair there field carrier landing, they were having so much trouble they were saying we don't want them. And they got the Hellcat the Navy did and so but the guy, friend of mine guy in the Navy and he flew both of them and he said you know the Corsair was abetter flying airplane, but if I was going to be shot at I rather be in a hellcat[3].
January 1943 - Going overseas
Finally Joe and John were able to go overseas in January 1943[3][2], the first destination, the town of Pago Pago, American Samoa, deep in the Pacific, where they would join Marine Fighter Squadron 441 (VMF-441), which was operating Grumman F4F Wildcats in which Joe would fly in[4][3][1][2]. The Wildcat was a plane which had only about a 1000 Horsepower with its Pratt Whitney 1830 Engine[3]. The plane also didn't have a hydraulic system, you had to crank the gear up and crank it to get it down. You had to charge the guns with a cable that ran out to the guns in the wings. As such he thought it was a pretty primitive plane[4][2]. Joe really thought that the Wildcat, despite its problems, could be tough on the ground, especially if you were caught in a crosswind[3]. On Samoa, there was one time that Joe grounded a Wildcat on takeoff[3].
January 1943 to March 1944 - Being overseas
For the next 13[1] to 14 months[3], the job of 441 then and from then on forward was to help keep Japanese off of different islands in the area in the Pacific, to keep them from penetrating further south. They had already gone to the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, the Philippines, among others. Despite this, they didn't get in any action, and so Joe and the job of others was to continue training, this time in the Wildcats[1][3][4]. Joe had gone overseas with one of his friends, John Ralphus, who was also part of 441.
Joe and the other members of the squadron formed a good bond, were good friends with one another, all doing the same thing. One of the officers that was in 441 Squadron was a guy by the name of Rared Shaeffer, who was a Texan. There were some pictures that had been taken of the squadron during their time overseas[2].
Eventually Joe and the squadron were transferred to the island of Funafuti, a group of small islands surrounding a volcano-like island. The island was 700 miles south of Tarawa which was being currently occupied by the Japan. Because of the distance they realized that the Wildcats couldn't really reach Tarawa and come back, and so in the air at that time Joe didn't see any Japanese planes. It would have been a one way mission attempting to do so, and so they never tried, and so never encountered or got entagled with a Japanese plane. Despite this they were technically still in combat. With all this they were kind of disappointed they weren't getting into any action, as meanwhile everyone else was out in engagements. In August 1943 the Guadalcanal Campaign began and they were sending planes over there[4][1][2].
One of their jobs while overseas was to conduct reconnaissance of any Japanese ships that they could find. However they never found any[2].
The Japanese sometimes bombed them at night on Funafuti. The first time for Joe it was kind of scary, as there wasn't much they could do, other than getting into a foxhole and just had to tolerate it until it was over. The squadron didn't have any anti-air guns and so weren't able to compete with the Japanese who would come down to bomb them at night. Fortunately no one was harmed as far as Joe knew. His plane however did get destroyed and so they had to send in a new one, he never would really try to have any personal connection or relationship to his planes[4][2].
On that note Joe did conduct what technically could be called night missions. A lot of the times that the Japanese would come and bomb at night the men of 441 would be required to put the planes up in the air in order to prevent them from being bombed and destroyed. Since they didn't have any night mission equipment they were told to go to a certain island within the Funafuti group until the raid is over and then come back home[2].
On Funafuti there were some natives that Joe met. He thought that they were friendly, not hostile in any way. The Japanese didn't have any plans to go that far (700 miles) south of Tarawa, nothing planned to do down there[2].
On Funafuti on base there were films relating to propaganda, music, among other things. There were movies, entertainment of people telling jokes and all that. Joe didn't really have a particular song that he liked. There were quite a few that he went to on Funafuti[2].
The 441 eventually went up to Nanumea, only 500 miles from Tarawa. It was a pretty primitive island. At first when they landed there they didn't have any accommodations, everything being pretty open, and so they'd eat outside with the lack of a mess hall. Eventually though they got to building some stuff. On Nanumea there were some natives as well just like Funafuti.
Even from there there was no way for the Wildcat to go to Tarawa and back, it would be essentially a one-way mission. Therefore their mission remained to keep the Japanese from getting it[2][3].
At some point Joe had asked someone what the depth of the ocean was, thinking that he could maybe just walk on it[3].
Joe blacked out from pulling too many G's at one point during this time overseas. It happened during flight in mid air, but thankfully he was high enough to regain consciousness[2].
There was one memorable time that Joe had in the Wildcat in 441. One of the things that they practiced on was by having someone towing a banner for someone to fire upon. In order to get the sleet in the air, the reserve fuel tanks were dropped to lighten the load. One day Joe was towing the banner for someone else and the person fired on it. Having done this Joe missed the island (assuming because he didn't have the extra fuel to get back). Funafuti wasn't a big island, but they were finally able to get in touch with radar when he was 80 miles past, so they knew he was coming in and so started sending out planes to look for him. Joe knew they weren't going to make it back, turned around to head in that direction, and were able to get within 20 miles of the island. After running out of fuel he had to land in the water. The water was terrible and rought, probably 15 ft waves, although it wasn't, cold, but was warm. His plane stalled out and hit a wave. He had that shoulder harness on so tight that he couldn't breathe and his nose hit the Wildcat's gunsight right in front of it. He then unhooked everything, jumped into the water and inflated his Mae West. As soon as the plane hit the water there was an automatic one man life raft, which was about the full length of his arms, that came out behind the pilot and inflated. It had a lanyard/string on it connected to the plane, and when the plane sank after 45 seconds of hitting the water, it flipped the raft upside down. He lost his fishhooks, paddles, and everything, but was able to ride it get it. For an hour and a half the planes came by but weren't able to see him. He finally put dye marker in the water every time that a plane passed by, unfortunately the big waves not helping, creating a current that would turn it into a little green string or thin line in the big Pacific. It didn't help either how small his raft was compared to the vast area around. Going back to his question he pondered to someone if he could walk on the ocean floor, it was in reality about 1,200 feet away from him.
For three long hours he was in the Pacific ocean. Eventually a PT boat was sent out to pick him up. They found Joe, and he tried to get himself onto the boat, but had a hard time doing it, as Joe was down and they were up[2][3][1].
February to March 1944 - End of first tour overseas
After staying with 441 for thirteen[1][4] to fourteen months[3], with around 40 combat missions, Joe went back to the mainland United States. He came back with John and the two began instructing in a fighter training unit (squadron) in El Toro, California. At El Toro he stayed at a hotel called Laguna Beach Hotel which was just nearby the base. He then went to Jacksonville, Florida[1][2]. At the time Joe was a Captain. One day, they and assuming others were in the ready room, and they were told that they needed two Captains to go overseas. Joe said[1]:
Well, we're ready
He was indicating that him and John were both ready to go overseas. John felt the same way as Joe did and was ready to go too[1].
March 1944 - Becoming a Captain and going back home
In March 1944 Joe was promoted to the rank of Captain. At that time the squadron was scheduled for being rotated out of overseas service, and so he also was able to go back home after about a year. WHen they got back to California the squadron dispersed[2][1].
March 1944 to January 1945 - Instructing and training in the Corsair
Between the time that he came back and the time that he went back overseas, Joe went to go instructing in a training squadron in El Toro. For him it was good duty right there on the coast, always there being plenty of liberty action, freedom to do some stuff, by that time the restrictions in California having been alleviated[2][3][4]. This was probably training of new pilots and such given his job.
In any case at this time was when Joe first got into the F4U Corsair. Instead of training in Wildcats they began training in the Corsairs. He thought it was a good plane. Not as breakable as the Wildcat. While training in the plane they conducted live ordinance trainings. They practiced with Rockets, Napalm, .50 calibre guns, 1000lbs bombs, all what seemed to be pretty destructive[2][4].
January 1945 - Going overseas a second time
In January 1945, Joe and John went overseas for the second time[1][3][4]. Unfortunately for the two good friends of Joe and John, they went into two separate squadrons. Despite this they would keep in touch with each other[2]. Joe now went to a new Marine Fighter Squadron which was based in the New Hebrides, specifically an island called Espiritu Santo, east of Okinawa. This squadron, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323, known as the "Death Rattlers", which had 51 pilots, had been overseas already for six months, since around July to August 1944. They all knew that they were going to Okinawa[2][1][3][5].
While at Espiritu Santo they trained for 3 to 4 months[2].
For the Okinawa Campaign Joe and the rest of the squadron got Corsairs to fly[5][3]. Compared to the Wildcat's Pratt Whitney R-1830 engine with only 1000 horsepower, the Corsair had 2000 Horsepower with its Pratt Whitney R-2800 engine, a lot more powerful, making a good flying plane in Joe's opinion[3]. Unlike the Wildcat the Corsair had a hydraulic system, where you charged the guns, raised the wings, and even raised the gear hydraulically[4].
Since John and Joe were new to the squadron, they would not be able to fly the planes to Okinawa, or on the way there, unlike the more veteran members of the squadron. In any case they didn't have any more Corsairs for them. They had to take an LST to get there. They departed from Espiritu Santo, 500 miles east of Guadalcanal, en route to Okinawa[2][1][3].
It was while Joe was in the 323 the US Marines finally took Tarawa[2].
March to April 1945 - Trip overseas
The trip took 38 days, about a month and a half. He must have thought what a heck of a way it was for an aviator to get into the war, as for him it was a long ride. Had he flown there, he would have only taken a couple days[1].
The trip on the LST from there to Okinawa would take about two weeks. They first set out on the LST to Guadalcanal, then New Lithey, and then on to Okinawa[2].
For him the experience on the LST wasn't all that good. The chow was kind of lousy. There were baked potatoes, black eyed peas, and would have been other things as well. For him it wasn't anything particularly spectacular. They had plenty of coffee though on there. At the time Joe was a smoker, just as everyone else was. He was also a drinker of alcohol, drank beer among other things. The heavy seas pitching on the LST made the experience worse as well. [2]
1 April 1945 - The invasion of Okinawa
On 1 April, the US invasion of Okinawa began. The US forces didn't have much opposition. At this point the US was down to opposing a bunch of little islands in the Pacific. Joe was there while the invasion was happening. He thought that he saw the most amount of ships ever seen his his life. Other than that, they weren't able to get up to the beach, and so had to sit out there waiting to be able to land on the island[1][2].
7 April 1945 - Joe lands on Okinawa
After waiting for six to seven days to get onto the island, on 7 April Joe was finally able to get on the beach. Him and the others were glad to be getting off[2][1]. He saw that the landscape on Okinawa was barren with craters and such (just as in E. B. Sledge's memoir described)[2]. Everything that was set up there by the US military was seen by him as pretty primitive. There were still men working on the runways, the airplanes still hadn't shown up yet, and they were living in tents and ate out of their mess kits as there was no mess hall, just had to do it outside. The flies and everything were so bad[1]. The airfield that their squadron squadron was based out of and flew out of was Kadena Air Base[6][2]. There wasn't a single time that the squadron, at least Joe, was based out of a carrier[2].
12 April 1945 - Joe's first flight out of Okinawa
On 12 April Joe finally got into his Corsair and flew out of Okinawa. He was three out of three divisions with 12 planes in his squadron.
Him and other planes climbed to an altitude of 20,000[4][2] to 22,000[3] to feet. They were up there looking for planes. Finally the Fighter Director vectored the group North[4]. There were some veteran members of the squadron that were saying that there were some Bogeys. Joe could only see some clouds and didn't see anything else. He then proceeded to look down real low below him and saw a blue colored airplane chasing some brown airplane. He said[3][4]:
Well, I'm gonna go check him out.
Joe took his plane down 2,000 feet, in which he now had four Zeros in front of his eyes. He picked the Tail end Charlie and shot at him. He wasn't thinking of hurting anyone in that plane, but pieces started coming off from the rear plane and the zero blew up, while Joe passed him. He put his stick at full throtle. He now thinks that there's three Japanese planes behind him and thinks[5][3][1][4]:
Well gosh there's three zeros behind me I better get out of here.
He rolled his Corsair over and started down, reaching compressibility, in which his airframe couldn't take going faster down, but stayed resulting in his stick starting to jump around. He finally pulled out at about 9,000 feet[5][4][3]. He then said[4]:
I was going home
He then proceeded back to base[3][5][4]. For Joe it was an exciting experience. He thought to himself:[4]
Well this is what I have been looking for a long time.
It was probably around this time of 12 April that it got announced to Joe and the other members that FDR passed away during his fourth term, a sad time for Joe and others as he was well thought of[2].
13 April 1945 - Second Flight out of Okinawa
The day after his first flight, on Joe's second flight out of Okinawa, they took off and there were a bunch of Japanese planes letting down from their altitude, therefore were coming down at a faster speed than Joe and the others were. He tried shooting them but didn't get any hits. He managed to get in behind one and tried to shoot him, however the pilot evaded him. Despite this most of the Japanese pilots at this time were inexperienced[2].
April to June 1945
May 1945 - Shooting down a Nate
On another mission at Okinawa Joe had another encounter. He spotted a lone Ki-27 Nate, a fix geared Japanese plane, which was flying at about 1,000 feet from the water, and was acting as a Kamikaze (which were coming from Japan and they were always on the lookout for them), for set course somewhere to never go back, and so Joe was going to make sure that he stayed down. Joe came in, the Nate completely oblivious it seemed to Joe's presence, and was shot down. The Nate, not going up in flames but exploding, just rolled over and went down into the ocean, there was no dogfight. That was Joe's second kill[3][5][6][2]..
The squadron's kills
During the April, May, and June months, the squadron shot down a total of 124 planes. In total throughout the Okinawa campaign Joe had 100 combat missions, adding to his already 40 the first time. In total Joe shot down two planes during those missions, one a Zero, the other one a Nate[1][3]. Joe had a lot of friends that were aces with five kills, but the chance was never given to him[1]. Back then it wasn't easy to get a kill for a pilot. Joe thinks that the highest victory count in the squadron was 12 kills. He remembers a guy named "O'Kief", Irish name, who shot down around 7 planes. There was always the guarantee that once you came back to base from a mission and reported your kills that they would add another marking on the side of your plane indicating a kill. For Joe there wasn't any kind of personal celebration that he got a kill each time.
The Squadron itself did loose some of its members (from being killed). For Joe and others they were sad to see them go[2].
During the time at Okinawa they had Forward Air Controllers on the ground, who were aviators directing artillery and airplanes[1]. As such Joe was providing Close Air Support for the troops on the ground[5][2]. While conducting these missions Joe and the other members of his squadron carried, 500 lbs bombs, Napalm, Rockets, .50 Calibre guns, 650 Caliber guns, 2400 rounds. As such they were each able to do a lot of damage. They did so by talking to a Fighter Director on the ground instructing the pilot where to hit. If Joe scored a hit the Fighter Director would tell him that he did something good. He scored a hit probably about 3 times. It wasn't an easy task as you had to know where it was going. The Japanese on the ground did ever try to shoot him, what seemed to be a 20mm from generally open areas, however not once did he get hit. They did a lot of CAS on Okinawa, and Joe was happy to do it as he was able to help the guys on the ground, and thinks that that's what the Marine Corps needed, some support from the air[6][2].
In Joe's and others' mind, there was no doubt who was going to win the war. They knew that they were going to win and had confidence in themselves that they would achieve victory[5].
Joe did write letters home, mainly to his mother not his siblings, however there wasn't anything special in their contents. It was mostly just the average "How were you doing" sort of thing. He didn't know how long it took to get the letter home.
On another note there were some natives of Okinawa that Joe would have encountered[2].
15 June 1945 - Leaving Okinawa and going to Peleliu
On 15 June Joe and presumably the other Death Rattlers left Okinawa[2][3]. They were transferred to the island of Peleliu from then on and would stay until the end of the war[2][1][3]. At Peleliu they had Joe and the other members of the squadron flying in their Corsairs on missions not with bombs or other ordinance but as patrols. They were patrolling a specific island in the Palau island group, the island of Babelthuap. Since it was a big island they had to keep checking if they were trying to put together an invasion of Peleliu[2]. They didn't know whether or not the Japanese were ever going to quit[6]. There was still the fear that, despite having gone up the island chain, the Japanese were going to attack from one of the other islands that they were still occupying. There were still a bunch of them on Babelthuap, which is where the fear of it came from. Anguar was another island that the Japanese occupied which was just off of Peleliu, as the US never bothered to go ashore. Despite all this searching effort they never found any ships[2].
On that topic Joe did indeed hear about some of the atrocities that the Japanese had committed throughout the war. As such he did fear about getting captured, didn't want to, but luckily didn't become become a POW. He never heard any stories of being a POW from anyone he knew at the time since no one he knew was a POW.
There were some natives of Peleliu that Joe would have encountered or seen[2].
Just like on Funafuti there were films, music, and other kinds of entertainment. There were a few music things on Peleliu, not as many as on Funafuti[2].
6 August 1945 - First use of the atomic bomb
On 6 August 1945, the United States dropped their first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan. Everyone including Joe up until that point had been expecting to participate in the invasion of the home islands. They knew it was going to be tough trying to take those islands. While on Peleliu, Joe heard about the news and they all knew about it. They were thinking that one might have been enough, but turned out not to be so. The bomb was explained in what Joe saw as a weird deal, coving so much ground. They weren't shocked about the size of the bomb, just were happy about it. Up until this point there was no kind of indication that the United States was building the atomic bomb. At the time they were stopping any ordinance from being dropped by the planes on Japan, but kept on flying some. Despite this, Joe knew that something was up. Despite the bomb there was no kind of residue or anything coming their way. Hearing about the atomic bomb made him realize the enormity of it. Everyone was happy that it happened, maybe this would end the war they thought[1][2].
9 August 1945 - Second use of the bomb
The Americans eventually dropped the second bomb[2].
15 August 1945 - Soviet Invasion of Manchuria
The Soviet Union eventually invaded Japanese occupied Manchuria. Joe and the others were happy to the news that the Russians were joining in helping them out[2].
2 September 1945 - Surrender of Japan
On 2 September, the news spread out of that the Surrender of Japan was being signed, and so the war was ending. The people reacted by celebrating some on Peleliu, specifically by drinking and partying. They claimed that on Okinawa that even some guys were injured celebrating firing guns, bullets going up they gotta go down[1].
In total throughout the course of the war, Joe flew 140 missions[3][1].
Throughout this entire war Joe had never come to admire any general he served under in particular, like the ones under MacCarthur did[2].
During or after September - Getting back home
After the war was over Joe was trying to get back home in the United States. The Corsairs remained at Peleliu, in which they would eventually bring them home on the carriers. He went from Peleliu[3][1][2] to Guam, naturally wanting to fly home but wasn't able to. Therefore they set up there and waited around for about two weeks for a ship to get shipped back to the states, put the group on a ship, this time not an LST, but instead a troop transport. It was a two week trip, one which he felt was a pretty nice trip, not too bad[1][2].
Throughout his whole time in the Corsair during the war, just like the Wildcat, there wasn't any particular one that he had a bond do, as he never flew the same plane hardly[2].
12 October 1945 - Arriving back to San Diego
On 12 October, on Columbus Day, Joe arrived back to San Diego, California. When they arrived there, Joe saw that there was a big airship that said[1]:
Welcome
on it. He thought it was neat that they had that. People were indeed celebrating when they got back. Other than that there wasn't much of a welcome home, the people there had settled down by then[1][2]. Since the last time that he had been in San Diego, the place had changed a lot, as there wasn't any war, and to Joe it seemed that everyone was pretty happy that the war ended.
Having gotten back to San Diego Joe was just now hanging around and eventually got a ride with a guy in the car and drove all the way back home to either Corpus or Tyler[2].
October 1945 and after - Going back home to see family
After that Joe and the others went back home to see family. His father, having already passing away before American entry into the war, hadn't seen all that Joe had been up to. His mother though was still in Tyler. His sister that was born in 1910 didn't go into the service, and in Joe's eyes didn't think she went into the factories. His brother too didn't go into the service, but he didn't know what his two brothers were really up to. Since he only really corresponded with his mother he only really knew what she was up to. As it was, Tyler was just an old country town[2]. The local people reacted to people like Joe by wanting to know what was happening overseas. Joe got to talk to the Boy Scouts and at Church. Despite going back home and such, Joe was actually still in the military[1].
He enjoyed having gone home. It was emotional, especially since he hadn't seen his mother since back before he had gone to Corpus. He had never gotten any kind of leave to go see her or anything like that. She had feared that he was going to get shot down, although Joe never told her about having landed in the water.
After having been out at sea Joe began missing flying[2].
Before August 1946 - Going to Cherry Point, NC, meeting wife, and stationed in Puerto Rico and coming back
After that Joe went to the East Coast, specifically to Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point at Havelock, North Carolina[1][2].
It might have been here that he met his future wife. At the Marine Corps base he met Naomi, a tower operator, a Master Sergeant. Joe, her, and a couple of other girls went on a trip up to Washington D.C., in which Joe and Naomi got to be good friends[2].
From there Joe got into an Infantry outfit that was bound to San Juan, Puerto Rico. In this outfit Joe was assigned as a Forward Air Controller, specifically because he was an aviator, and they wanted aviators to direct planes and artillery. Having heard they wanted aviators on the ground, he didn't want to go, as he wanted to be flying, but was made as a Forward Air Controller anyways.
Before getting there, they wanted Joe and others to take salt tablets due to it being hot and sweaty. He took a couple of them, and proceeded to throw up. He thought that maybe it was too much salt or something like that. They made landing in Puerto Rico and Joe had to go down the rope ladders and that kind of business.
They stayed in Puerto Rico for about a month, then went back to Cherry Point[1].
1 August 1946 - Getting off of Cherry Point and going back to Dallas with Naomi, getting married
On 1 August 1946 Joe was able to finally get off of the base at Cherry Point. That day he encountered the Dispersing Officer (also known as the paymaster), who told Joe[1]:
You know if you go fly four hours, I'll give you flight pay
Joe, obviously wanting this flight pay, responded[1]:
I'll be back
He went to get the four hours done, and came back to get his pay, around $120. Then he left Cherry Point[1]. He went back to Dallas, and Naomi was able to get out and go to Dallas as well, in which she began to work for Delta Airlines in their reservation system. Eventually the two got married and she would begin to have kids. To Joe she would and had a pretty good career[2].
September 1946 - Enrollment into SMU
After getting of Cherry Point, Joe enrolled into Southern Methodist University in September 1946[6][1]. Whilst being in school he received some correspondances from the Marine Corps about flight pay. It seemed to him that they really wanted him back, as they put that he wasn't entitled to it. He decided to not give it back to them, thinking that he was gonna show them[1].
Sometime 1948 - Marriage
Sometime in 1948 Joe became married[1].
August 1948 - Finishing studies at SMU
In August 1948, Joe finished getting his Business BBA degree at SMU. Although he was still in the reserve at the time[1][3], he wasn't going back into the Marines full time at the time. Therefore he had to find a job, and had a tough time at that, but was able to find a drilling company in Northwest Colorado. Being there, it was terribly cold, not a job really suited for his degree he had.
Fortunately Joe's family somehow knew this partner that owned one of the 32:32 partners?, and he said[1]:
Well this accountant that was going to leave, and maybe you can go up there and everything work out.
Afterwards Joe went to work in Tyler, his mother still living there. At the Ford Dealership, a guy John Young Ford. There, Joe did accounting, credit work, among other things[1].
May 1950 - Getting into reserve squadron in Dallas
In May 1950 Joe got into a reserve squadron in Dallas (probably NAS Dallas), and so got to fly at this time[1].
June 1950 - Beginning of the Korean War
In June 1950, the Korean War began[1]. Joe and nearly everyone else in the United States at the time were opposed to Communism, especially those of the Chinese, and opposed to its expansion[2].
1 August 1950 - Called up to join the conflict
On 1 August 1950 Joe and his squadron were called up[1][3][2][6]. He had already begun working for a Gas transmission company as a corporate pilot. He then after was called up for service to El Toro[2]. Joe know that he was subject to being called up and was excited and ready to finally get back into the cockpit. His mother on the other hand would have been or probably wasn't all that happy that he was going back but there wasn't anything she could do about it[2].
Him and other people, in Joe's mind, were honorable people. They wanted to win and protect the country[5].
August to October 1950 - Training for the war
For two or three weeks they stayed in Dallas and then went to El Toro, California. There he stayed again at Laguna Beach Hotel, which he thought was a nice place. It was 12 miles from the base and so they had a bus to go from there and back. At the hotel they had a pool and other kinds of things like that, nice stuff for the time[2]. There they did even more training, specifically some instruments training. At El Toro he became friends with a guy named Bowland, who was from California, and who was training with him. They even went down to El Centro, which was kind of in the Imperial Valley of California. There they did some training in some Wildcats. They didn't have any Corsairs as they were overseas, the thing that they were really going to fly for the war[5][1][2].
Throughout the time that they were training, they were informed that they were going to Wonsan in North Korea[2].
This whole time Joe's wife went along with him to these places. She was also expecting to deliver a child, so went back and stayed with Joe's mother, assumingly in Tyler, driving back by herself[1].
October 1950 - Going to Korea
In October 1950 Joe and his squadron went overseas to Korea. That month he reported to Wonsan, North Korea. Joe was part of VFMA-214, the Black Sheep Squadron, which already had a bunch of veterans in it, not any from 323 squadron[1][6][2]. When he was in Wonsan Joe visited the town. To him it was just a regular town. This whole time in Korea they were to fly Corsairs, not getting the chance to fly F84s or F86s. Although Joe did want to fly jets, he was content with flying the Corsair again. Since they weren't going into jets Joe never went down into MiG Alley[2].A typical flying there was about two and a half to three hours, sometimes longer. During these missions they were bombers, taking ordinance and bombing something. They would go on what was called an Armored Reconnaissance Mission, flying up over roads looking for anything they had. Him and the members of his squadron were told that everything north is free game. Joe was fired upon, not many times hit though, as he was too fast. He could see the orange balls coming up at him. The goal, at least for Joe, was to have 100 missions. During those missions not once was he ever shot down, felt blessed about it[1][2].
While in Wonsan there wasn't any particular incidents it was just all day job work for him there.
What gave him satisfaction was when they conducted CAS, as he felt it was helping the guys on the ground. Like at Okinawa, in Korea they also had Forward Air Controllers. Some of the members of his squadron did get shot down while providing CAS, but Joe never did. He never even encountered a MiG-15. They wanted the Air Force to take care of the MiGs, as they had F86s and other planes that could counter it. They didn't tell Joe and others in the Corsair what to do if they encountered one, but he thinks that they could probably outturn them[2].
During his time there Bob Hope, part of the USO, flew into Wonsan[2][1], and the Marines landed at Incheon on the West Coast of the Korean Penninsula and had to come around to land at Wonsan. They hadn't cleared the harbor of the mines and so they set out there for about two weeks. Bob Hope flew in and so kids the Marines saying[1]:
I had to get Wonsan ready for them.
Joe had never actually gotten to see Bob Hope during his time in Korea[1]. Despite this Joe did like Bob Hope[2].
Most memorable day in Korea, 150 planes attacking Sinuiju North Korea
Joe's most memorable day in Korea was when he was involved on a mission with 150 planes going up to attack Sinuiju, North Korea. Sinuiju was on the Yalu River, and it was thought that the enemy was building an airstrip there. The Airforce, Marines, and Navy were all involed in different altitudes. Joe and others went up to 15,000 feet with a 1000 lb bomb which had a Variable Time Fuse (VT fuse), in which anything would set it off. Once it was armed it would arm, fall 1000 feet for example, and anything such as an airplane would set it off.
They went in at 15,000 feet and dropped the bomb. Joe thought it was pretty exciting, as he could also see the MiGs take off at Anton Airport in Manchuria at the Yalu River coming after Joe and the other planes. There was no concussion from the bomb as it exploded too far away. Seeing all the MiGs take off that day along with the 150 planes, a lot of manpower he thought, he was among made it a memorable day[1].
November to December 1950 - At Yonpo
The UN forces were still pushing North and winning against the North Koreans, and it seemed that they were going to win. He never did meet any other members of the UN forces (other than the Americans). He didn't even meet South Korean soldiers either, but thought that they were pretty good fighters. During the Battle of the Chosin Resevoir, Joe and his squadron went to be stationed at Yonpo Air Base, nearby Hamhung, which was as far North as Joe was going to go[6][1][2]. Because of where they were at, which was at 5,000 ft in altitude the planes didn't do quite as well on the ground, the higher you went the worse it got[6]. The guys had it a tough time at the Resevoir, all disabled in some way, just mauled from the weather and freeze. They didn't have the right equipment either[1].
Joe and his squadron didn't have air to air, but they did a lot of Close Air Support[6].
After December 1950, 1951 - Aboard the carrier Sicily
Afterwards for about two months, someone or some people wanted the 214 to operate off a carrier, and so assigned them aboard the USS Sicily, a jeep carrier, only 600ft long. Unfortunately they were told that the squadron wasn't carrier qualified, and so were sent to Japan to get carrier qualified. They conducted Field Carrier Landing Practice in which they had a landing LSO (Landing Signal Officer), who would wave you in and gives you cut, land and take off and come around and do it again. Because the Sicily was an escort carrier being only 600ft long, it was a little more hard to learn it. He was still flying a Corsair when they were flying off of the Sicily[1][2]. This was the only time that Joe had ever been assigned onto a carrier throughout his career, every other time he had been land based[2].
There was one particular incident that Joe made a memory of. They taxied him and his Corsair onto the catapult the first time, and as soon as they hooked his plane they gave him the "offbreak" signal. Him and the other people sat there and watched them shoot the guy on his right side off the carrier, to which then Joe and another man or other people saluted and pulled the cord to it and he took off. He came back to the ready room to find that there was a sign up on the chalkboard on the wall saying[2]:
McPhail reluctant warrior
Joe then asked someone[2]:
What's wrong?
Someone replied:
You took off with your breaks on
Joe knew that he poured the cold all to it, his feet automatically unintentionally went on the break. Therefore they could see the blue smoke coming out, but thankfully there wasn't any damage to the plane[2].
For a while they flew out of Japan when they got run out of North Korea. When he was in Japan on R and R, and he would go withdraw my money and they had taken that flight pay out of my pay[1].
July 1951 - Ten months over
After ten months, and 102 missions being completed (the 100 missions required)[2][3][1][6], Joe got out of 214. He was put into what was called a Group and Joe was a Briefing Officer briefing flights before they went. He did that until it was time for him to go back home[1].
In total, Joe had around 242 missions with Korea and WWII combined, got two planes shot down, a zero and a Nate[1][3][6]. He had a total of 1025 hours of flight in the Corsair, never had an accident or anything[6][4]. He also had flown a total of 4000 hours during the wars[6]. As such Joe was pretty well impressed with it and its power. He at some point before or after got wind of the fact that the Japanese called the Corsair "the Whistling Death"[4].
Out of all that experience he was most proud of the two planes that he had shot down[6].
It was also at this time that he probably had his two Distinguished Flying Crosses. He had the highest ribbon of the Distinguished Flying Cross[6].
Post war Joe didn't stay much in touch with his companions during the war, he was busy with the company that he worked at[2].
August 1951 - Coming back home
In August 1951 Joe got home. Unfortunately he wasn't able to find a job. At the time he was still a Captain, now in the reserve. He didn't do much to get recognition at the time, but finally was able to make major at some point during the year 1951[1][2].
For his career and service maybe even after he had gotten out Joe had received 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses and 11 Air Medals[2].
Although he damaged or destroyed some of his Wildcats, he never broke a Corsair throughout his time in them[2].
1952 to 1955 - Stationed at NAS Dallas
After Korea, for two years from 1952 to 1955 Joe was stationed at NAS Dallas[2][1]. Despite this he was still in the reserve[2]. He was the Executive Officer of the Marine Training Detachment in a training squadron, where they were training Weekend Warriors like Joe was when he was called up to service originally at NAS Dallas around 11 years before. Earl Growind, a real good friend of Joe's, was stationed there as the CO, who got Joe stationed there[1][2]. At some point Joe went out of California again but never went overseas. In a way he hoped to go in again to get his time in. As a Weekend Warrior he sometimes had to drive to California for two weeks active duty and then drive back. Did training for CAS and all that kind of stuff[2].
Around 1955 - Working at the Gas Transmission Company
After that he stayed to work for the Trunkline Gas Company/Gas Transmission Company based out of Houston as well as Kansas City where he would fly executives, people, among others as a corporate pilot, flying some of the high officials of the company, and personally got to know some of them. Joe thought that they were nice, appreciating his transportation. The president of the company served as a Washerman during the war. His boss was also a Marine aviator from the war. Some other people that he flew were in the war as well. The company's pipeline started in the Rio Grande in Texas, and went to the Michigan border in Indiana, right through the heart of the country, about Memphis and around that way. Since Joe was still in the reserve, he had to go to NAS Dallas on the weekends. His boss didn't like it when Joe went on the weekends because it meant that he had to fly in his place[1][2]. Throughout his career there he flew Cesna 310, Twin Beach, Lone Star, Howard 500, Jet Star, and a J2[2].
After he had gotten out, Joe decided to stay in the reserve until he was able to receive 20 years satisfactory service to get paid. He already had 9 years of active duty under his belt, and so did the rest as a weekend warrior type. He had to get 50 points per year to get satisfactory service. Since his boss didn't like him being out, he got out but stayed in what was called a volunteer training unit until he got his 20 years[1].
1955 - Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and then Colonel
In 1955 Joe was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, at the time at NAS Dallas. He had been getting promoted throughout his career due to having clinged to the service, not particularly due to any action, but was a respectable pilot[2][1]. That year, Joe wrote a letter to Marine Corps Headquarters. A guy who was called up to serve in Korea alongside Joe, named , wrote Joe back a letter saying[1]:
You know, if its not imperative you get out, you're in a zone for bird colonel
Joe responded back enthousiaticly[1]:
Cancel my request!
Therefore Joe was able to make bird colonel. They partially made him colonel due to his time of service[2][1].
Joining the Chosin Few
Some time maybe even decades after the Korean War, the men at the Chosin Few organization's chapter in Houston allowed Joe to join the organization because him and the rest of his squadron had supported the men in the pocket at Chosin[1].
Ba Ba Black Sheep TV Show
When the Ba Ba Black Sheep TV show aired, which everyone knew about, it was about Joe's 214 squadron that he was in. People ask Joe when they hear he was in 214 if he knew Gregory Boyington, which of course Joe did not as he joined too late[1].
1955 to 1975 - Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War, Joe remained Houston. He had no activity during that time. Joe was glad to miss that war, really was, really felt for those men that had to go through it, as it was tough[1].
10 October 1981 - Officially out of the USMC
On 10 October 1981 Joe was officially out of the United States Marine Corps. He got out at this time because he was 60, and that was when you get your pay 20 years satisfactory service. By this time and with his service in the company, Joe had around 17,000 flight hours (4000 of which was from the wars)[6][1].
Around 1987 - Retiring from the gas company
After being employed at the gas company in Houston for 32 years, Joe finally retired[2].
20 January 2014 - Interview in Dickinson, Texas
On 20 January 2014, Joe conducted an approximately 50 minute long interview with Alice Braud Jones who was from the Sam Houston chapter of the DAR and the Fort Virginia Point Chapter of the UDC, as well as Anne Smith and Hellen Stein who were also from both chapters. Joe talked about his early life and experiences during WWII and the Korean War[1].
During the interview he explained that not a lot of people know what the Piper Cubs are.
He tells everybody that the war was fun for Joe.
At the moment of this interview he is reading a book called "Aviators", and its about Rickenbacher, Doolittle, and Lindberg, and Rickenbacher, they wanted him to go overseas as a kind of consultant and they shipped and got lost in the Atlantic, was int he raft for 26 days, well the little Island called Funafutti, they found him from OS2Us, found him in the rafts, they hada tough time, no food no water, they called a seagull and ate it, and used the insides for baits, they had some fishhooks. He finds it interesting to read about those guys. He thinks they were tough.
They heard that they dropped the atomic bomb, they were all happy that it happened, maybe this would end it. He was in peleliu when he heard the war was ending. The people reacted by celebrating some on the island. They claimed that on Okinawa that even some guys were injured celebrating firing guns, bullets going up they gotta go down. Alice Jones the interviewer had talked to one of the Navajo Code talkers doing an interview and he was on Iwo Jima, and he said when they heard the news, the Americans started jumping up and down, but the Japanese hadn't heard the news, and so they were still firing at that point. And so it took some time for the Japanese to stop firing, and some of them that did were so embarrassed that they just hid out for a long time. Joe says that in the Phillippines there was a Japanese guy in 1948 taht resisted for three years.
The book that Joe is currently reading tells about Richenbacher and him in that raft and he felt for him because he said it was a five man raft but I want to see the man who designed it for five men aint no way five men could stand in it. It reminds Joe of the one man raft he was in while he was in 441.
- 22:35 Did he have any indications at all of the atomic weapons that the united states was building at that time? No, it was a well kept secret, probably a good thing too since the Germans were working on it, trying to develop a bomb as well, and so they needed to keep a secret.
Joe stayed overseas for 13 months didn't really do anything. They moved up to another island called Nanamia, and they were, Funafuti was about 700 miles below Tarawa, Nanamia was about 500 miles, no way for a Wildcat to fly there and back, but they were just there to keep the Japanese from getting it. it was the same reason to take Iwo Jima start flying the planes, they started flying the P-51s to escort the B29s to Japan. But nwo the Japanese had already that was home land for them and they had two airfields on Iwo, they had thousands of miles of trenches dug under the volcanic soil, one of the bloodiest battles of the war, so was Guadalcanal. A battle that nobody had heard about was Peleliu, they told the marines, the marine general said it would only take them two or three days, but took a month, and then they went some place else and the army came in and took over and heck they lost people too. Those tunnels and stuff, bloody nose ridge they talked about, they just couldn't get them out, burn them out mostly. The airfield was real close to the bloodynose ridge, the guys would come in, drop their bombs, go back, rearm, it wouldn't take them fifteen minutes. It was that close. It was tough at Peleliu.
Joe says that if the Marines had one squadron it was the 214
Joe doesn't trust himself to fly anymore. Joe believes that all kids should have mandatory military service. How did service affect rest of your life, lessons, etc? I think its puntual, dependable, never did feel that I was patriotic. I am nowadays[1].
23 March 2018 - Interview with KIII 3 News at Kingsville Airshow in Texas
At the time that he was 96, Joe went to the Kingsville Airshow in Kingsville, Texas, the same place where he had trained the one time before. He did a short interview in which he described his service with KIII 3 News[5].
Near the end of the news segment interview he commented that:
We were honorable people, we wanted to win and protect the country. Im kind of sorry Im not still involved, I'd like to help them even today.
27 June 2018 - Interview with Erik Johnston at airshow
On 27 June 2018 a video was posted onto YouTube of an interview with Erik Johnston of Colonel Joe McPhail and his experiences during the war[3].
" I tell everyone I wrecked three American Airplanes and shot down two Japanese airplanes, so I consider myself a generic ace. "
27 July 2023 - American Warriors Project documentary interview
On 27 July 2023 a documentary interview of Joe McPhail was posted to the American Warriors YouTube Channel and their website[7][4][6].
At the time he was 101 years old, and that October would be 102[6].
Joe at the end of the interview said that he felt blessed to have done all of it, and would do it all over again[6].
19 October 2023 - Interview in his own home by Paul Sidle of the WWII Archives
On 19 October 2023 Joe conducted an interview with Paul Sidle from the WWII Archives.
At the end of the interview Paul asked Joe[2]:
What advice would you give to future generations?
Joe responded[2]:
Well I wanted to fly fighters, and I chose the Marine Corps, and they didn't have any patroll planes or transports or anything like that. And I think that anybody that wanted to fly fighters, they should choose the Marine Corps.
Joe didn't think that the Marine Corps Air Force was in any particular way superior to that of the Air Force. It was just his personal preference[2].
Citations
- ↑ 1.000 1.001 1.002 1.003 1.004 1.005 1.006 1.007 1.008 1.009 1.010 1.011 1.012 1.013 1.014 1.015 1.016 1.017 1.018 1.019 1.020 1.021 1.022 1.023 1.024 1.025 1.026 1.027 1.028 1.029 1.030 1.031 1.032 1.033 1.034 1.035 1.036 1.037 1.038 1.039 1.040 1.041 1.042 1.043 1.044 1.045 1.046 1.047 1.048 1.049 1.050 1.051 1.052 1.053 1.054 1.055 1.056 1.057 1.058 1.059 1.060 1.061 1.062 1.063 1.064 1.065 1.066 1.067 1.068 1.069 1.070 1.071 1.072 1.073 1.074 1.075 1.076 1.077 1.078 1.079 1.080 1.081 1.082 1.083 1.084 1.085 1.086 1.087 1.088 1.089 1.090 1.091 1.092 1.093 1.094 1.095 1.096 1.097 1.098 1.099 1.100 1.101 1.102 1.103 1.104 McPhail, Joe (20 January 2014). "Joe McPhail collection" (Interview). Interviewed by Alice Braud Jones, as well as Anne Smith and Hellen Stein.
- ↑ 2.000 2.001 2.002 2.003 2.004 2.005 2.006 2.007 2.008 2.009 2.010 2.011 2.012 2.013 2.014 2.015 2.016 2.017 2.018 2.019 2.020 2.021 2.022 2.023 2.024 2.025 2.026 2.027 2.028 2.029 2.030 2.031 2.032 2.033 2.034 2.035 2.036 2.037 2.038 2.039 2.040 2.041 2.042 2.043 2.044 2.045 2.046 2.047 2.048 2.049 2.050 2.051 2.052 2.053 2.054 2.055 2.056 2.057 2.058 2.059 2.060 2.061 2.062 2.063 2.064 2.065 2.066 2.067 2.068 2.069 2.070 2.071 2.072 2.073 2.074 2.075 2.076 2.077 2.078 2.079 2.080 2.081 2.082 2.083 2.084 2.085 2.086 2.087 2.088 2.089 2.090 2.091 2.092 2.093 2.094 2.095 2.096 2.097 2.098 2.099 2.100 2.101 2.102 2.103 2.104 2.105 2.106 2.107 2.108 2.109 2.110 2.111 2.112 2.113 2.114 2.115 2.116 2.117 2.118 2.119 2.120 2.121 2.122 2.123 2.124 McPhail, Joe (19 October 2023). "Joe McPhail Interview 19 October 2023" (Interview). Interviewed by Paul Sidle.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29 3.30 3.31 3.32 3.33 3.34 3.35 3.36 3.37 3.38 3.39 McPhail, Joe (27 June 2018). "WWII Marine Pilot Col Joe McPhail Veteran Tales" (Interview). Interviewed by Erik Johnston.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 McPhail, Joe (27 July 2023). "Joe McPhail | Part 1 | WWII Corsair Pilot and USMC Veteran" (Interview). Interviewed by Cody Rheault.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 McPhail, Joe (23 March 2018). "98-year-old WWII veteran attending air show" (Interview). Interviewed by Michael Gibson.
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 McPhail, Joe (3 August 2023). "Joe McPhail | PART 2 | Oldest Living F4U Corsair Pilot" (Interview). Interviewed by Cody Rheault.
- ↑ "Joe McPhail | WWII Corsair Pilot and USMC Veteran - American Warriors". American Warriors. 27 July 2023.
Bibliography
- McPhail, Joe (20 January 2014). "Joe McPhail collection" (Interview). Interviewed by Alice Braud Jones, as well as Anne Smith and Hellen Stein.
- McPhail, Joe (27 June 2018). "WWII Marine Pilot Col Joe McPhail Veteran Tales" (Interview). Interviewed by Erik Johnston.
- McPhail, Joe (23 March 2018). "98-year-old WWII veteran attending air show" (Interview). Interviewed by Michael Gibson.
- "Joe McPhail | WWII Corsair Pilot and USMC Veteran - American Warriors". American Warriors. 27 July 2023. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- McPhail, Joe (27 July 2023). "Joe McPhail | Part 1 | WWII Corsair Pilot and USMC Veteran" (Interview). Interviewed by Cody Rheault.
- McPhail, Joe (3 August 2023). "Joe McPhail | PART 2 | Oldest Living F4U Corsair Pilot" (Interview). Interviewed by Cody Rheault.
- McPhail, Joe (19 October 2023). "Joe McPhail Interview 19 October 2023" (Interview). Interviewed by Paul Sidle.
Interview 1 on LOC.gov
History of the 323
https://archive.org/details/AHistoryOfMarineFighterAttackSquadron323/mode/2up?q=McPhail
Pacific War Museum Fredricksberg plaque commemoration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RadHDs3uEk
https://www.pacificwarmuseum.org/join-give/tributes/mcphail-col-joe
https://www.fredericksburgstandard.com/2021/03/10/honoring-a-hero/
Joe's younger brother was there, the golden raisin story.
His brother followed in his footsteps and joined in the Marine Corps as a pilot, was an admirer of Joe: 11:50
His wife was a Marine at Cherrypoint, she was actually from Cherrypoint NC.
Vintage aircraft and a 101-year-old Marine Corps 'hero' invite you to the next East Texas air show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gbtAhzwtB0
https://headtopics.com/us/less-boo-for-your-buck-for-the-second-halloween-in-a-row-47972420
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1620639128344507
Joe doesn't believe he's a hero. I like to fly and thats all that counts. This interview was conducted by Kevin Reese from Dallas at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison in front of a WIldcat, one of the planes he used to fly, WWII Korea, Are you really 101, yessir, really, I'm nearly 102 on 10 October. He will be the guest of honor at the Rose City Airfest in Tyler on 30 June, and thunder over Cedar Creek Lake Air Show on July 1st. The Colonel says he's too old to fly himself now.
Joe doesn't consider himself to be a celebrity.
25th Anual Wings Over Houston Airshow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njwlL_WDmTQ
Captain A.J. High and Joe McPhail were interviewed. High was in a B25, B17, and B29 in the Aleutian Islands for 6 months. High hs a book "Meant to Fly" of his total carrer.
Colonel McPhail, He was in the Marine Corps, didn't have Air forces, went to Flight school in Corpus, went overseas in January 1943, joined Fighter squadron on Samoa. Went back overseas in January 1945, joined Fighter squadron, went to Okinawa, then went to Peleliu and stayed there until the war ended. Was called back in to the Korean thing August 1st 1950, ended up in NK in October 1950. Flew 102 missions in Korea and came home and went to work for a corporation from flying for a gas company in houston for 33 years, that was it.
Death Rattlers Article
https://www.pressreader.com/usa/flight-journal/20190601/281685436253407
News Articles and such:
https://www.kltv.com/2021/07/01/webxtra-east-texas-world-war-ii-veterans-be-honored-air-show/
https://www.chron.com/houston/article/Choir-sings-Battle-Hymn-of-the-Republic-for-8520939.php
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2019/11/10/photos-saluting-texans-of-the-greatest-generation/
https://wingsoverhouston.com/legends/col-joe-mcphail/
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1637309666367589
https://airshowstuff.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4175&start=50
https://wingsoverdallas.org/veteran-voices/
https://www.startiger.com/l?i=590349
https://www.eaa.org/eaa/about-eaa/eaa-media-room/airventure-news-releases/warbirds-in-review-2023
https://www.mylife.com/joe-mcphail/e527149862112
https://the110club.com/oldest-living-men-in-the-usa-by-state-t29884-s90.html
https://wingsoverhouston.com/show-info/legends-heroes/
https://www.tiktok.com/@kiplinggg92/video/7299848741333306670
Houston Veterans Day ceremony held after parade canceled
https://news.yahoo.com/live-houston-veterans-day-ceremony-155341162.html
The Mayor’s Office announced two special honorees at this year’s ceremony:
Colonel Joe McPhail, United States Marine Corps Retired, World War II and Korea – Corsair Fighter: Colonel McPhail, 102, has lived in Houston for more than six and a half decades. He is the oldest surviving Fighter Pilot in the United States and served in over 240 combat missions and two Air to Air victories. His awards include a Distinguished Flying Crosses – 2nd Award and Air Medal – 11th Award.
US Marines:
https://www.keeping-history-alive.com/WWII-Preservation/Marines-1/
Flying legend Colonel Joe McPhail joined the US Marines in 1941 immediately before the attack on Pearl Harbor. McPhail served in the Marine Fighter Squadron VMF441 flying the Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat. He would later be assigned to the "Death Rattlers" VMF-323 as a F-4U Corsair pilot. The Death Rattlers were the most successful Marine Fighting Squadron in 1945 with 124 victories. During WWII Joe would fly 140 combat missions and is credited for shooting down a Nate and a Zero. He would later serve in the VMFA-214 "Black Sheep" fighter squadron during the Korean conflict. He would fly a total of 102 combat missions with two air-to-air victories later being awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses and 11 air medals and the Navy Commendation medal.
2015 - WWII vets witness historic flight from Houston in their honor
https://www.chron.com/life/article/WW-II-vets-witness-historic-flight-from-Houston-6135410.php
Contributors: Paul Sidle