Joe McPhail
From WWII Archives
Joe McPhail was a Marine corps Pilot during WWII and 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.youtube.com/watch?v=HeV3D-Ugi_8
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Col+Joe+McPhail
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
Interview 1 on LOC.gov
- Alice Braud Jones, with the Sam houston chapter DAR, Fort Virginia point chapter, UDC, Anne smith, and Hellen Stein in both chapters, interviewing Colonel Joe McPhail on 20 January 2014, Dickenson Texas.
- Joe McPhail served in the Untied States Marine Corps from 18 October 1941 to 10 October 1981.
- He was born in Grand Saline Texas, on highway 80 between Dallas and Freeport, pop of 1200, something like that pretty small town
- Fathers occupation was railroad commission, had to travel quite a bit, Joe ended up going to Corpus where he was working where he graduated from Highschool in 1939. The family moved to Corpus at the time
- He had a sister, she was about 11 years older than Joe, she was born in 1910, he also had a younger brother who was born in 1930, 20 year difference. Their mother didn't worjk outside the home, she worked inside the home
- Before entering the military, he just graduated from Junior college in Corpus in 1941, and that summer he enrolled into CPT Civilian Private trianing, government program, a neat thing for him because he got exposed to planes the first time and got to fly for about thirty for fourty hours that summer of 41, and he really knew then that he wanted to be an aviator, but the Navy that time, and the reason he chose the navy because at Corpus they had a Naval air station, and when he was going to junior college he saw all these guys in uniform in town and everything, and so he thought that would be all for him. But in 1941 in the Navy you had to be 20 years old and have sixty hours ofg college. He had the sixty hours of college, but he wasn't 20, so he had to wait until he was 20 and on 10 October 1941, eight days after that he was sworn into downtown Dallas. He joined in rather than being drafted, never had a draft number. He joined the Navy because he wanted to be a pilot, still having around 40 hours of flying experience from CPT flying Piper cubs, they were tail draggers, not a lot of peopole knowing about that
- 4:00 Early days in the military. He was first stationed at naval air station in Dallas. They called him to be there on 4 December 1941. Pearl Harbor was Sunday three days later, he got in just under the wire. He remembers about it, it happened about noon time, they heard about it, most people didn't know where pearl Harbor was. It was funny, they kind of had them patrolling the perimmeter of the air station, they wouldn't give them any bullets. THey were just walking the fence line while patrolling. They were patrolling but couldn't defend theself.
- His father wasn't in the military though, he passed away in 1940. He was only 53 years old. He had cancer and Joe thinks that he also had TB, they thoght it kind of was TB, but nowadays we didn't know about Cancer. His mother didn't resist when he enlisted, wasn't upset about it. It wasn't because he was the eldest brother his other brother was born in 1917. And his brother Gale? was born in 1930, sister was born in 1910, there were actually four children, three boys and one girl.
- Right after Pearl Harbor, he had only been there for a short [eriod of time. The base reacted, they were really concerned more on security they were afraid the Japanese, the ones that were here int he states were gonna rise up against them. They stayed busy at the base, they had two marine sergeants who kind of influenced Joe he thinks that were taking care of the aviation cadets. Incidently they called Dallas Naval Air Station E Base, Elimination Base, and they wanted to see if you could fly before they sent them to Corpus. The ymeant Elimination base, they wanted to see which ones could fly,a nd so were testing their capabilities, see if they could be a pilot. There weren't too many that had the CPT, so Joe had the rung up on the guys that never flew before, it was pretty easy for him. He wasn't flying a Piper in Dallas, there they flew N3Ns, built by the Naval Aircraft Factories, which didn't make too many planes, these were twin cockpit trainer planes, biwings tail draggers. They were pretty easy to fly for Joe, big wings, a stick instead of a wheel. But then when Joe went to Corpus they were flying Steermans, big strong airplane sure is. But then he flew a lot of different kinds of airplanes.
- 8:55 A flying day consisted of, they generally went to grad school for half a day, and then fly half a day. But they had a syllibus they would go through, start out elementary things, then do more compllicated things. Joe liked doing Acrobatics, was fun for Joe. He tells everybody that the war was fun for Joe. He really liked to fly. He attributed that to staritng out in that summer of 1941, June 1941.
- 9:50 After his training was finished, he got his wings in October 1942, then went to Opalaca Air Station in Miami, what they called Preoperationals training. They flew AT6s the Air Force calls, the Navy calls SNJs, but he had flown them in Kingsville in fighter training. And thats another thing he started out as a Seaman's second class in the Navy when he wwent to Dallas, then he went to Corpus and he was a Aviation Cadet then. And his pay at Dallas was 36 dollars a month, but then when he did fly, got his four hours, he got a 18 dollar raise, 54 dollars, 50% increase in salary. But then as Aviation cadet he would make 75 dollars, he had money he couldn't really buy or even spend on much aorund, no place to spend it. But yeah Corpus it was pretty interesting for Joe, started the steerments at Broadfield, then moved to Cabinets, then got to fly an OS2U, was a first line observation plane, they even had them on cruisers, would catapult them off and recover them with a kind of a sled like thing and then reel it in. He was doing water ladning. They had land planks too, fixed landing gear, but he thought it was pretty neat. One time he climbed to 9000ft and thought boy is this something. After that he went through instruments school. Then he had to decide I want to fly fighters, always wanted to fly fighters, but everyone wants tot fly fighters. He thiught that going into the Marine corps he would stand a better chance of getting into a fighter plane since they didn't have as many scout planes as the Navy did, and so he chose to go into the Marine Corps.
- 12:45 So was that just a paper transfer, yes it was basically just a paper transfer. There wasn't any formality or anything like that. From there he went to Miami opalak Naval Air Station, and there they did some field carrier landing practice they called some FCLP, like going aboard a carriers, was a different kind of landings. They did fly other, the N2, Joe got to fly what they were calling the F2A, which is a Brewster Buffalo, kind of a weird airplane, didn't ahve a hydraulic system, around six or seven ways to get the landing gear down, and one of them there were a pair of dykes to cut a cable as a last resort, if the crank doesn't work then you would use that. He did fly a Wildcat overseas, whole time he was overseas he flew them.
- 14:10 Those carrier landings, youree coming to land you're coming in on something thats not moving, meanwhile on a carrier that ship is moving the whole moving in different directions and have to be precise about it. He got to fly off a carrier during the Korean war in a Corsair
- 14:45 From Miami he went to San Diego California, waited to go overseas and got there December. He went to Samoa, American Samoa, deep in the Pacific, Pago Pago, a town there. He joined the Marine fighter squadron 441 who had Wildcats. Then their job was more training but then they ended up moving to different islands to keep the Japanese off of them. The job was keeping the Japanese from penetrating further. They had already gone into the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, in the Phillippines. They moved to a little island called Funafutti, no one has ever heard of it. 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. 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.
- 19:27 How long was he in the Pacific? Joe was there for 13 months, then came back and instructed in a fighter training unit in El Toro California and then Jacksonville Florida, and then he went back overseas, volunteers, they came into the readyroom one day, they said they needed two Captains to go overseas, and it was Joe and his friend John Ralphus, and Joe said we were ready, and so John felt like Joe did and they didn't do anything that 13 months, but anything they went overseas and joined a new Fighter Squadron in the New Heberdees. in a place called Spridle Salas, that was in January 1945. And From there that squadron had been overseas for six months when they joined and so they were new, and we know they were going to Okinawa, the old guys got to fly airplanes on the way there, Joe and his friend had to go on an LST to get there, from Spridle Salas to Okinawa, took 38 days. Joe thinks in the interview thats a heck of a way for an aviator to get into war, a long ride it sure was. Had he had been an aviator they would have been there in a couple of days. It was a long long ways. Spridle Salas was about 500 miles east of Guadalcanal, took him a month and a half. And the invasion was 1 April 1945, which was Easter Sunday, the invasion of Okinawa, didn't have much opposition. They were down to a bunch of little islands. There were so many ships the most you had ever seen in your life, they couldn't get up to the beach, and so they had to sit down there for six days, and so they gott ashore on 7 April. Everything was prety primitive, they were still working on the runways, the airplanes haddn't shown up at all. And They were living in tents and eating out of mess kits, no bmess hall, they just had an outside, flies and everything were so bad
- 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.
- 23:00 Where were you when they first dropped the bomb? He remembers that day, they all knew about it. They kind of stopped them from dropping any ordinance at that time, but they still kept flying some. He was on Peleliu, after Okinawa, he got to do a lot of flying up there. First flight on Okinawa was 12 April 1945, and he saw his first Japanese airplane, a Zero, he shot it down. But then the squadron did real well they had a lot of pilots and they shot down about 124 planes in that April, may and June area. And he shot down two, but had 140 combat missions. He had a lot of those missions in the first time he went overseas, not a lot, he had about 40 that time, then about 100 done a second time after Okinawa and Peleliu, and then 100 during the Korean war
- 24:40 He had heard that that the US had dropped the atomic bomb, he was on Peleliu. he was not able to see any residue, thousands of miles away. And his reaction was that he realised the enormity of it, they made him and others stop bombing and such that they had been doing up until that point, so he knew that something was going up. 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.
- 26:35 The war is over now, and what is your responsabilit at that point. Joe was trying to get home. How long did it take? Joe went from Peleliu to Guam, naturally wanting to fly home, but didnt get to, waited aorund for around two weeks, and they put us on a ship, not an LST, was on a troop transport, pretty nice one wasn't too bad. Got back the 12 October, a holiday, Columbus day or something, coming into San Diego. Aparently they had a big airship that said welcome on it, it was neat to Joe
- 28:00 What was the welcome home like? No there wasn't too much, kind of settled down by then. Then they (Joe included) went back home to family. How did local people react to you? They wanted to hear about all what was happening over there. Joe talked to the biys scouts and the church. Joe was still in the military though. Joe went to Sharepoint North Carolina, on the East Coast, which was a big Marine base there. He was over there. He even got into Infantry Outfit that was going to San Juan Puerto Rico. Joe was assigned to Forward Air Controller. They had aviators on the ground to direct artiller and airplanes. They had them at Okinawa and Korea. But they wanted Aviators on the ground, and when Joe heard they wanted aviators he didn't want to go. Wasn't meant that way. Joe wanted to be in the air. Joe did go to {Puerto Rico though with them, we made a landing had to go down the rope ladders and all that kind of business. They wanted Joe and others to take salt tablets, because it was hot and sweaty. Joe took a couple of those and threw up, too much salt or something.
- 30:10 How long were you in Puerto Rico? Only about a month. Went back to Sharepoint, then got off of the first day of august 1946. Joe remembers, the dispersing officer, paymaster, said you know if you go fly four hours (this was august first) Ill give you flight pay. So he said Ill be back. And so he went down and did his four hours and got his pay, like 120 dollars. Joe got out and went to school at SMU in september, started getting these correspondance from the Marine Corps of that flight pay, they really wanted him back, said that he wasn't entitetled to it. So but I didn't give it back to them, I was gonna show them. When I was in Korea, I was in Japan on R and R, and I would go withdraw my money and they had taken that flight pay out of my pay.
- 31:30 So how did you get to Korea? Finished SMU in August 1948, was still in the Marines as a reserve, finished degree, doesn't go back into the Marines full time then, Joe had to work then, had a tough time finding a job, eventually finding a drilling company in Northwest colorado. It was terribly cold. Business in BBA was his degree, not something that was for this job in Colorado. My family knew this partner that owned one of the 32:32 partners? And he said well this accountant that was going to leave, and maybe you can go up there and everything work out. But then Joe also went to work in Tyler, his mother lived there, at the ford dealer, guy named John Young, Joe did some accounting there, did some credit work. Then he got into a reserve squadron in Dallas in May of 1950, so was still flying at this time. Wewll in June 1950, the Korean war was startedso, his squadron was called up 1 August 1950. He was married then, got married in 1948. We stayed there in Dallas for two or three weeks and then went to El toro califonia, did some training there some instruments training, we even went down to El centro which is kind of in the imperial valley of CA, and did some trianin down there in some Wildcats. They didn't have Corsairs down there they were overseas. But my wife was expecting so when I went overseas in Oct 50 she went back and stayed with Joe mother and drive back by herself.
- 34:25 When did you go to Korea? October 50. How long? 10 months. Typuical flying day? Well was one flight typically two and a half to three hours. SOmetimes longer, even flew out of Jap for a while, and when got run out of NK, I reported to Juansan NK in October, and we went to Yongpo, and thats when the Marines were at the Chosun resevoir, and so I can say we got run out of there. THe squadron he was in had been aboard a carrier Sicily, and two fourtee, Blacksheep squadron, one which had a TV program, Bah Bah Blacksheep everybody knows. It was about that. And everyone asked me did I know Bowington, I was a long time after him. I say if the Marines have one squadron its the 214. Its that popular. Anyway, they stent us back, they sent us aboard the carrier and they said that the squadron wasn't carrier qualified and so went back to Japan and got Carrier qualified.
- 36:00 What did you do on these missions? What was it like start to finish. We were really bombers, taking ordinance and just bombing in a certain. We'd go on what they called an armed reconnaissance mission, flying up roads looking for anything they had a bomb line, they'd tell ya everything north is free game. Were you fired on? Yes. Not many times hit, I was fast. You could see those orange balls coming up at you. We did some CAS too which gives a lot of satisfaction, helping the guys on the ground. They let me join a chosen few, its a chapter here in houston at the guys at the resevoir, and reason was because we supported them, those guys had a tough time, all disabled in some way, just maulded from the weather, freezing. They didn't have the right equipment either. Funny you talk about the USO. Bob Hope flew into Wansan, NK, and the marines had landed at Incheon on the west coast and had to come around to land at Wansan, well they hadn't cleared the harbor of the mines and so they set out there about two weeks. Bob hope flew in so he kids the marines said I had to get up there to get Wansan ready for them. Joe never actually got to see Bob Hope. No never shot down. Joe feels blessed. Joe flew 102 missions in ten months, that kind was the goal was 100 missions. I got out of the squadron and they put me in what they called was a group and I was a briefing officer briefing flights before they go. so I did that until it was time to go home.
- 39:00 When did you come home? Came hom ein August 1951, got home and couldn't find a job. At the time he was a Captain, became a Captain in March 1944 when he got home the first time. I wasn't really doing much in the reserve to get much recognition, and so finally made major in 1951. Was a Captain from 1944 to 1951. Made Lt Colonel in 1955, at the time he was at the Naval Air Station in Dallas. After Korea he was stationed in Dallas where he originally was from 1952 to 1955. What were you doing there? I was the executive officer of the Marine training detachment, we were training weekend warriors like I was when I was called up. It was real good friend of mine that was CO and thats how I got my stationed there, guy named 40:25 Earl Growind.
- 40:30 What was your most memorable day in Korea? We went on a flight they had 150 planes going up to Silawiju, it was on the Yalu river, they thought they were building an airstrip up there, and it was the airforce, marines, and navy all involved in all different altitutdes, we went up to 15000 feet with a 1000 lb bomb with a VT fuse a Variable, anything would set it off, once it was armed it would arm, fall a 1000 feet say and anything an airplane would set it off. Anyways we went in at 15000 feet and dropped the bomb and it was pretty exciting, we could see the MiGs take off at Anton airport in Manchuria at the Yalu river coming after us. But they stayed down low, you can't, in a jet kind of gotta get it up to altitude to make it efficient. Dropped the bomb at probably 15 hundred. The cuncussion from the bomb didn't effect the aircraft he was too far away at that point. Why was that such a memorable day? Its the MiGs takking off for one thing and all the airplanes, 150 aircraft at one time, pretty big, lot of manpower.
- 43:32 Most memorable day in the pacific was seeing that Japanese airplane. But I also had a memorable time first time in Wildcat in 441, flew until I ran out of fuel. I landed in the water, it was terrible water, probably 15 foot waves. How did get out, well landed and unhooked everything, jumped int he water and inflated my Mae west, but gosh they had an automatic life raft, it was wwater activated, soon as the plane got in the water the life raft got out of the back behind the pilot, inflated, well it had a lanyard on it a string and when the plane sank which took 45 seconds, it turned the raft upside down, I lost my fishhooks my paddles, everything but I was able to ride it and get it. They knew I was coming in. He was close, 20 miles. They were able to rescue him. Joe put dye marker in the water every time a plane passed by but it was such a current that it was just a little green string in the big pacific, the 15 foot waves didn't help. They sent a PT boat out to pick him up. Joe was having a time trying to get himself on the PT boat, 44:18 they were up and Joe was down. He was in teh water for 3 hours was all, it was hot in fact the water. Didn't have any problem with that. 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. Joe's was a one man raft that was it. I have searched for guys that were lost but you can just hardly see them but that raft is [full arms length] and the ocean's vast. I asked somebody I wonder what the depth of that is, I was just thinking maybe I could just walk on. In reality its about 12 hundred feet.
- 45:45 Served in the reserve until when? Until actually in 55 I really went to wrok for this company in Houston flying for them, 46:00 "Drunkline Gas Company". He was flying executives, people, Joe was a corporate pilot. Joe was still in reserve in Dallas and had to go on the weekends, and his boss who was a Marine also marine aviator he had to fly when he wasn't there. So he had to fly when Joe wasn't there. Joe got out and stayed int eh reserve until he reached 20 years of satisfactory service to get paid. And he only had about 9 years of active duty, rest was weekend warior type, hgad to get 50 points a year to get satisfactory service. Boss didn't like it when Joe was in Dallas, so he got out but he stayed in what they called a volunteer training unit got my 20 years and wrote a letter to HQ Marine Corps. A guy that was called up to Korea with Joe, 47:25 Speed Wilson, penciled Joe back a letter he said you know if its not imperative you get out your in a zone for bird colonel, Joe responded Cancel my request! Two years made bird colonel yeah. That was about 1955 well it was after that you know you know you don't get pay until your 60, and I was 60 in 81 sot aht was the official dayte of retiurement but wasn;t doing anything during that time.
- 48:20 Where were you during Vietnam? Here in houston. Had no activity during that time. Joe was glad to miss that war, really was, really felt for those people, was tough. How many total flight hours? 17,000. 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.
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19 October 2023 - Interview in his own home by Paul Sidle of the WWII Archives
15:12
- 00:45 Joe McPhail no middle name, born 10/10/1921 in in little town of Grand Saline Texas, between Dallas and Freeport Highway 80. Homer and Fally McPhail parents. He didn't fully grow up in Grand Saline, he moved to Tyler when he was in 1937, stayed there and graduated from High School in Tyler, which is in East Texas kind of between Dallas and Streetport.
- 2:11 He had a brother and a sister, Hugh McPhail and Claydmine McPhail, they were all over the isl...?
- 2:35 when he was in Grand Saline, he wasn't a very good student, always having trouble remembering things in high school, bad test taker that sort of thing. He didn't get into much trouble in school, tried to be honest and do the right thing. He wasn't personally fond of going to school.
- 3:35 Did you have any friends going to school? He did have some, can't think of any right now, Lloyd Ray was a cousin of his in Tyler, he was a little younger than Joe was.
- 4:25 his father was a grocerman, worked for a company in Grand Saline, he also ran for Taxes assessor collector, but the county of Vans Ant, was elected and spent four years as Tax collector, after that he had a grocery store and stayed with it for a while, finally he went to work for the state, and they sent him to Corpus Christi Texas, and so when he graduated from high school in 1939, they moved to Corpus Christi.
- 5:49 What was life for you like in Tyler, Joe liked to play sports, wasn't really good at it. Played Baseball. Was it because there wasn't much else to do? Yes it was there wasn't anything else to do. He was first baseman in Baseball. Did he ever really get far in Baseball competing against other teams? No he didn't. Him and his team would just play locally.
- 6:53 What kinds of other things of entertainment did they ever have. He liked to fish. The biggest thing he caught was an 11 lb Black Bass, biggest thing he caught, caught it around Tyler. Did you ever get into mischevious trouble, no he never did.
- 7:50 Do you remember anything about your neighbors and friends outside of school, he did, they had neighbors there good friends of theirs in Shepard was their name, played Baseball with them, fished and did all that.
- 8:25 Did you ever have a radio, no he doesn't think he ever did. There was the Tyler morning telegraph was the newspaper, always delivered it around the..., was one of his jobs. He wasn't paid too much since it was during the Depression times.
- 9:20 How hard did the Depression hit his family? It was pretty tough, they didn't have a lot of money, made the ends meet. What kinds of things, any other jobs, he mowed lawns. They owned a car back then, when Dad was county tax assesor, he had a Chevrolet, had wheels on the fenders, kind of extra two of them. They didn't travel that far with them, didn't go outside of Texas, pretty big state.
- 11:03 What was the decision for yall to move from Grand Saline to Tyler? Well it was because of his Dad's job, he was a county worker and so he had a cousin who was a pretty big in county politics, and so he went to work for his cousin, thats when he got into the county business.
- 11:55 Any fond memories of your dad? He was a hard worker, he remembers killing the hog in the fall, it was good to see the hog meat that you got out of it. What about your mom? She was just a home body, didn't do much else. She cooked good food. Siblings fond memoreis? They were quite a bit older than Joe was, so he always looked up to them. But they didn't bother Joe, and he didn't bother them, never in any particular kinds of fights.
- 13:35 Typically people when they move away miss friends, he did miss some friends from when they moved from Grand Saline to Tyler. He doesn't remember who they were.
- 14:10 Remember holidays from that time? Well Christmas was always a big deal for them, always got presents for the christmas tree, They would get their tree from places that would grow pine trees. He wished for guns and thing like that. stuff like fishing equipment and stuff like that
- 15:10 For 4th of July they didn't do much, some fireworks and that was about it.
- 15:45 Before you got into the service, future hopes and dreams. He graduated in 39 and he went to junior college, he was wanting to be a pilot so he enrolled what they called CPT, Civilian Pilot Training the government sponsored, flying that summer 1941, got about 40 hours, really got hooked on flying, wanted to continue and so he went to the military and they said to go to flight school, he had to be 20 years old and have 60 hours of college, he had the 60 hours of college, but wasn't 20 yet. 8 days after he was 20 he was sworn into the Navy. He wasn't called up until, that was 18 October 1941, and was called up on 4 December, 3 days before Pearl Harbor. Reported to the Naval air Station in Dallas, started flight school, took about 10 months of training, got his wings in October 1942, and so he reported to San Diego California and was at the North Island Naval Air Station and they just were kind of waiting to go overseas, and so overseas in January 1943.
- 19:02 Backtracking, what initially got interest in becoming Pilot. Joe thinks that being around Airplanes, there was an airfield nearby, Tyler pounds field Corpus.
- 19:55 What was CPT like for you? It was really good Joe enjoyed it flying Piper Cubs, it didn't have any breaks, and so we would taxi, park up on a hill. He never did, he got about 40 hours that summer of 1942, really summer 1941.
- 20:55 Remember anyone from, instructors? Frinefruk was his last name was an instructor, this was in Tyler, that summer of 41. When he was done he went to Corpus.
- 21:40 When you were in Corpus, leading up to the war, backtracking, what were some of your political opinions of the time. Joe didn't really have any. Dad was Tax censor of Vans an county for 4 years.
- 22:20 Remember the programs back then? Joe wasn't involved very much was only 9 years old. What do you remember about Geopolitics of the time before got into war. He didn't think about it, having the war like that. So leading up to, while getting into the war, there was no expectation of you that there was any sign of war? No there wasn't. Did anyone else between 4 and 7 December believe anything was happening? No.
- 23:30 What remember of hearing news of Pearl Harbor? Well thought that got myself in a mess here. Getting in in time for war. Joe enjoyed the trainign that he got the 10 months. You know Bus, Piper built were pretty built primitive airplanes, you had to spin the prop to start it, like an old automobile. Remember any incidents during training? Not too much, didn't have any accidents. Other people had accidents, there were some guys ground loop. Anyone from CPT that foloowed you into service. There were some guys, guy name Ralphus, he and Joe were together quite a bit, John Ralphus. He was at San Diego in North Island, and Joe was his roommate, so they were both good friends. They went overseas the same time, and was in the same squadron overseas, came back to the state, instructed together, and went overseas again but went into a different squadron than he did. They did keep in touch afterwards.
- 25:20 What was Dallas Naval Air station like? It was pretty much a regular you know, this was during the war in all this. And we were anxious to get overseas and do some fighting. That was a reaction to the news of Japan going across the pacific. They did have a dislike for the Japanese people, they kind of thought that they, did Pearl Harbor wrong, and part of the first war.
- 27:45 When y'all went to San Diego, that was after Pearl Harbor, the whole west coast was locked down. Joe and others would go into town, and be tourists, but it was pretty I think everybody was ready behind the war, especially over there. Never had heard about the Battle of LA. There was blackout in San Diego, there were guards posted around the city, a lot of them sure did. Joe and others had to have ID cards to get in and out of the base. It was an airfield they were staying at, North Island they called it. They were just training there just to get in time, in the airplanes.
- 30:00 What did y'all start using after you were getting in training in the service. They had what they called an N3N, which was a Naval Aircraft factory built airplane, was a lot like a steerplane fabric biplane. It was an older model, but weren't actually using it just for training. They even flew Cubs again some in North Island. Remember anything particular about N3N, was an open cockpit, two cockpit, was a good airplane, acrobatics, rolls, loops, things like that you could do. What was the most complicated maneuver you learned. 31:40 Probably, you would wheel up at the top and then you roll over at the top of the loop, pulled a lot of G's at that point. He did almost black out before form that many G's. He has blacked out before, but they were high enough to recover and didn't have any accident. Was that during training or during the war. Actually during the war, they had Grumman Wildcats, Crank the gear up and crank the gear down, charge the guns cable running out to the guns in th wings. Pretty primative airplane.
- 33:05 They were itching to fight, anxious to get into battle. Any indication during training there was no indication they were about to get into battle. First time overseas they didn't do anything, nearly a year and they didn't see any airplanes, they bombed us at night. This was in the central Pacific, to an island called Funafutti. What did it feel like to be bombed for the first time? its kind of scary, not much you could do, we had Foxholes we got in them and till it was over with, but they didn't have very good range witht eh Wildcat, it was 700 miles to Tarawa, and they couldn't go up and back. The Japanese controlled Tarawa at the time, it would have been a one way mission. They never went up there. They even moved up closer within 500 miles of Tarawa in a place called Nanamia. They weren't able to go up there and back.
- 35:15 The name of his squadron he was in? The 441 was the Wildcat squadron. Whe he was bombed, was there anyone new that got killed, no, there was no casualties. His plane did get destroyed so they had to send a replacement Wildcat. He never named his Wildcat, not a relationship with it or anything. He ran out of fuel in a Wildcat. What happened was they were towing a banner for someone to fire on, and in order to get the sleet in the air, they had to lighten the load on the Wildcat, so they took the reserve fuel out and one time we got the guys fired on it, and Joe was towing the airplane, and we missed the island, Funafutti wasn't a big island, finally were able to get in touch with radar, 80 miles passed the island, so Joe knew they weren't going to make it back, turned around headed back, got within 20 miles of Funafuti before landing in the water, pretty rough landing, big big waves, but he got out got in the raft, and was able to put down a marker in the water so they could find him. He wasn't in the water for very long, 3 hours. The water wasn't cold, it was warm.
- 38:20 Any other incidents while training? Not any incidents that he could think of right now. The second time he went overseas in 1944 I guess it was, we, I shot down a Japanese airplane first flight out of Okinawa, 12 April 1945. First tour through the pacific he never entagled up with a Jap at all.
- 39:35 Any time y'all came close to an area where you might have engaged some? Well yeah, well at Okinawa they were coming from japan, Kamikazis, we were always looking out for them.
- 40:10 Experience like on nanamia? It was a pretty primative, we didn't have any accomidations at all when we first landed there, everything was pretty open, we'd eat outside no mess hall or anything, but they finally got what they were building stuff.
- 40:45 Remember any officers from that time? Well yeah there was a guy named Schaeffer, Rared Schaeffer, he was a Texan, he was in the squadron, Joe has pictures of the squadron and can look at the picture and can remember their name but not now.
- 41:30 Did you form a kind of bond or comraderie within your squadron? Yeah we're pretty good friends, all doing the same thing, and Schaeffer was in the 441, same squadron. Do you remember any friends, comrades from time, any particular ones? Its been a long time ago, remember this guy named Bowland, California guy good friend of his, was in a training squadron in California with Joe. That was after Okinawa, came back in states and instructed in El Toro south of LA. Even lived in Lagoona Beach Hotel, was a nice Hotel. Was about 12 miles and they had a bus that would run us back and forth. They had a pool and that kind of stuff, for the time pretty nice.
- 44:05 Okinawa was first ever engagement. Really they were in combat in the 441 but you know it wasn't actual engagement, they couldn't fly far enough to get any action. They in the squadron was kind of disappointed they weren't getting into action, were wanting to get into action, meanwhile everyone else was out in action. It was in August 1943 Guadalcanal, and they were getting a lot of airplanes, 45:55 Joefalls?, and all that bunch. During that time they didn't fly anything else than the Wildcat. But next time overseas he flew Corsairs. They flew them in El Toro in training, Corsairs. The Corsair was a muchc better plane than the Wildcat, had a lot of power, and it was a good airplane, he never did break one.
- 46:55 Did you ever have any near run incidents that you almost got shot down. Yes, after the escond flight out of Okinawa, we just took off and there bunch of Jap planes were letting down from altitude were up faster than we were and, Joe got in behind and tried to shoot him down and outran him. Those were zeros. Most of the Japanese pilots were inexperienced at that time.
- 48:10 What caused you and I guess other memebers of the 441st, to get sent back to the states? Well it was just about a year overseas and you got rotated back to the states. And then Joe was in that training squadron in El Toro and he went back overseas again about a year, stayed until the war ended.
- 48:50 Did anyone during that time ever explain to you why you were never able to go into a real engagement? Well you know it was a real engagement in Okinawa. In the 441 they never did, we just realized that we couldn't fly 700 miles and couldn't come back.
- 49:45 Do you remember anything specific while training in El Toro. Well not much it was good duty right there on the coast, always plenty of action, liberty action, a lot more freedom to do some stuff. The restrictions in California had been aleviated by that time
- 50:30 Reaciton to Japanese interment? Well it wasn't much of a deal, they had them all in camps so we never did get involved with them.
- 51:00 Did you continue to fly Wildcats in, not Wildcats, when they went back to California thats where they gave them the Corsairs. There were live ordinance trainings. Napalm, rockets, .50 cal, 1000 lb bombs, all pretty destructive.
- 51:55: What was the decision to go back overseas, and did you change squadrons? Yes he was in the 323 Death Raddlers they found a raddler in a tent so thats where they got the name, it was before they got there. But 323 was a good squadron. It had 50 something pilots. When they went back to California the 441, they were all dispersed.
- 53:20 First mission in 323 was 12 April 1945, first flight out of Okinawa, climbed to 20,000 fleet and thats when they met the zeros. Using the ordinance training, they would do close air support, the guys on the ground. Generally you were talking to a guy, fighter director on the ground tellling you where to hit. Did you know for sure you scored any hits? Yeah they would tell you you did something good. That happened probably 3 times. It wasn't that easy, having to know where its going. Did they ever tried to shoot at you, yes they did, never hit him, not a single time. They probably were using 20mm. Well they were in generally in open areas.
- 55:45 DId you generally ever encounter any other fighter planes in your first experienced. Later on in May I shot down a Nate, it is a fixed geared Japanese airplane, was sure it was a Kamikazi. It was completed it was, he was only at around 1000 feet. Then he rolled over and went into the water. He didn't go up in flames, it exploded. He didn't even see Joe and so didn't try to fight back. So those were the only two victories that Joe ever had. Back then it wasn't easy to get a kill for the average person. The highest victory kill count within his squadron was probably 12. Joe remembers several with high kills, a guy named 57:25 O'Keef, was Irish, he shot down seven airplanes Joe thinks. They would always put the markings on the side of your corsair to show how many planes you shot down. That was a guarentee thing where you'd come nback to base and they would put it on there.
- 58:00 Did you do any sort of thing to celebrate a kill? No, I only had like 2 like I said. Did you ever come in with any close encounters. I did, the next day after 12 April Joe got involved with some Japanese airplanes letting down a lot faster than wer were and Joe tried to shoot em down but didn't get any hits.
- 59:00 Lose anyone in the 323rd? Yeah, well there were several guys that were lost, can't think of anything right now. Like I said we had a lot of pilots, 51 in the squadron. Were you saddened by the loss of those pilots? Yeah we always hated to see them go.
- 59:50 Ever have any correspondances back home with any family or friends? Yeah, wrote letters back home, mostly the average how were you doing that kind of thing. Average time writing and getting a response? Don't know how long it took to get the letter home.
- 1:00:35 Did you ever come into contact with any of the natives on any of these islands? Well yeah we did there was even on Funafutti there was some Natives, they were friendly, not hostile in any way. Every island we were on encountered some. Which islands were you stationed on in total in 441? THere was Funafutti, Nanmia first time, then Okinawa and Peleliu the second time.
- 1:01:55 Flying into Okinawa where were you based out of? Kadina airfield. Not flying off of a carrier. Flew off a carrier during Korea thing, only time I did, land based all the other times. Before going onto Okinawa they had to wait before they secured an airfield before they went on. The invasion of Okinawa was 1 April 1945, I rode up on an LST, Landing Shipp Tank from 02:50 Sprino Sanes to Okinawa took about two weeks. But they wouldnt let us go ashore until they had the islands airfields secure. On 7 April I went ashore on Okinawa, so seven days after initial landing.
- 1:03:30 Why not just fly in with the Corsair? Well we didn't ghave any Corsairs, you know LST the, we were based in 03:45 Sprido Sanes which is east of Okinawa and so they decided for us to go to Okinawaw, but they didn't have any airplanes for us to fly so we rode on an LST. So they first got into Corsairs in California, then went to Sprido Sanes, and then got into their Corsairs on Okinawa. Well when I first went overseas the second time, I went to Sprido Sanes, in the New Heberdies group, its way east, and we trained there for three or four months, then they decided we were going to Okinawa, so they put us on this LST, stopped on this Guadalcanal then New Lithey, and on Okinawa. But we set out there 7 days waiting to go ashore. On Sprido Sanes is when he first met his new squadron 323.
- 05:45 What was like on LST? Well it wasn't all that good the chow was kind of lousy and heavy seas pitching. We were glad to get off. What kind of chow was served? Baked potatoes, black eyed peas. Not anything particularly spectacular. Tghe yhad plenty of coffee on there. Joe did smoke at the time. Everyone else was smoking at that time too. They did drink alcohol too, beer, and alcohol yeah.
- 07:25 Get off LST and getting onto Okinawa, what is the sight you see. Joe has read E B Sledge's memoir, great memoir. The landscape on Okinawa was baren , pretty much the same as Sledge described it.
- 08:15 When did you go to Peleliu? After Okinawa, landed in Okinawa in April and probably went to Peleliu in June. 08:45 We flew Corsairs out of there, and finally went up, in the Palau group there was Babelthop was a big island and so we always had to patroll up there see they weren't trying to p[ut together an invasion of a smaller island we were on Peleliu. Despite going up the island chain towards the home islands there was still kind of a fear that the Japanese would attack from one of the still occupied islands. They were a bunch of Japanese still on Peleliu. Babelthop and several of the islands. There were still islands around that had been bypassed that still had Japanese forces on them. Angor was one of them. Island off of Peleliu that they never did go ashore and land there.
- 10:15 ever participate in any reconnaissance mission or anything like that? Oh yeah. What kinds of things looking for. We were looking for Japanese ships but heck enever did find any. In the 441 we did some, we had trips that we were looking for them, but never did see any. They didn't anything down that far 700 miles from Tarawa. Didn't have many. Wasn't their focus. The Marines did take Tarawa eventually, was while he was in 323.
- 11:35 Ever participate on any night missions? Yes we did, we lot of times they were bombing us at night and so we had put airplanes in the air just to get them off the ground, jkeeep from being destroyed. How did you see way through, didn't get night equipment, just had to know how to fly at night. Int raining ever give you advice for sort? They would tell you where to go like Funafutti was a group of islands in kind of a volcano like thing and they say go to this island and circle over there unitl the raid is over and come back home.
- 13:10 Peleliu was last island he was on until end of war. What did yall do mostly for remainder of that time. Was mostly just patrolls, fly around the big island of Babelthop and looking to see if they had any kind of invasion of ships so. Big fear they were gonna go to Babelthop and reinforce it and such. Any ships that actually tried. No neever did just left them there.
- 14:10 Joe did hear about some of the atrocities the Japanese army and navy committed. DId ever fear of getting POW, sure never did want to get captured. Never heard any stories from anyone he knew during that time. No one he knew became a POW. Joe was never a POW.
- 14:50 Obviously Atomic bomb was kept secret. Everyone including Joe was expecting in participating in the invasion of the home islands. Was there a particular fear? Knew it was gonna be tough trying to take any islands of Japan.
- 15:40 Reaction to first hearing news about the bomb? Well we were glad hear about it you know we thought maybe one drop would be enough, turned out it wasn't. How was explained? It was explained kind of a weird deal, it covered so much ground. Was there shock we could build such a big bomb? No, we were happy.
- 16:45 How did yall celebrate at the announcement war was over? Oh we just drinking. Drinking on Peleliu. So yal ldrank and partied kind of stuff? Yeah. What was expectations of what was gonna happen to yall? Well we just deidn't know what was gonna happen, didn't realize that they were gonna drop another bomba dn that would end it. What did you think when the Soviets invaded Manchuria? We were happy to see them enter the thing the russians and in any way to support us.
- 18:25 Did you ever come to like some of the generals above you like the marines admiring MacCarthur. No we never did see any generals at all. Any performers ever come in to see yall? Well bob hope on Wansan in NK, Joe liked him. What were some of the music and propaganda saw during that time? On bases they had films and some of that sort of things they did yeah. What kidns of things saw? Well music and just entertainment peopl;e telling jokes and all that. Any movies? Yeah had a lot of movies? Not a particular song he liked, Joe went to a few on Peleliu, not peleliu, but funafutti, quite a few.
- 20:35 How did return home after that? Well I was on peleliu and they moved us up to Guam, and we war was over then, and we set up there for about two weeks waiting for a ship gto go back to the states, finally they had one, so we sent back two week trip. What happened to the Corsairs? Well they stayed there, they finally brought them home on the carriers. They stayed on Peleliu when they left. Did you ever name or anything like that of your Corsair? Never did fly the same airplane hardly? Miss flying after that? Definitely sure did, liked to fly. You went to Guam, were on an LST again coming back to the states? We went to San Diego again. People were yeah celebrating when they got back. How much had it changed since then? Well it changed a lot, there wasn't any thought of any war, and so they were pretty happy Joe thinks that it ended.
- 23:00 What were you doing in San Diego when you got back? Just hanging out and I went on home got a ride with a guy in a car and drove all the way back. ALl the way from San Diego to Corpus or Tyler. His mother was in Tyler. His father had died in early part of the war. He never got to know the thing that Joe got to doing. What did your siblingsdo during that time? They neither one went into the service. My sister was born in 1910 or something like that, and my brother was born idk when. DId she ever go into the factories and stuff like that? I don't think so. What did some of other brothers do? I don't know anything. He mainly corresponded with his mom not his siblings.
- 25:15 What was it like finally returning to your mother and neighbors and whatnot. It was I enjoyed it. It was emotional yeah. Did she fear you were gonna get shot down? Yeah, I didn't tell her about being landed in the water. What was Tyler like when went back? It was just an old country town. First time been back since Corpus? Yeah. Hadn't seen his mother since years. Never got any kind of leave or anmuthign like that.
- 26:30 When did you start going back to train and stuff like that? I dont remember much after the war. Did you have any kinds of jobs picked up after that? I went to work for gas transmission company, and I stayed with them for 32 years, they were based out of Houston, and Kansas city. At that company in 55 I guess it was,
- 28:10 Reaction to FDR passing away? Well it was sad timne yeah, he was well thought of, on fourth term.
- 28:40 You were eventually colonel, did you get promoted during the war? Yeah I did, first Lt early in the war, and then made captain, then Major then Lt major then Colonel. Why were you promoted? Just clinged to the service, not any action. But you were reliable respectable pilot, yeah. DId you receive any medals, I received two distinguished flying crosses, eleven air medals.
- 29:45 Talked to me being called back up for service up to the Korean war. I was in the reserve and knew that I was subject to being called up and so they August 50 they called me up. I went to El Toro CA again. Yeah got a nice hotel again, it was the same one, was nearby the same airfield, 30:43 Guna Beach Hotel. What was reaction to being caleld up? Excited to fly again? Was kind of excited yeah. While in the reserve did you ever think of taking up flying comercially or civilian kind. He flew for the gas transmission company, 32 years. What did you specifically fly? A lot of different planes, Cesna 310, Twin Beach, Lone star, Howard 500, jet star, and a J2. What was the cargo, well carrying people for the company. Our pipeline started in the Rio Grande in Texas, and went to michigan border in Indiana, right through the heart of the country, about Memphis and that about of way. He was flying some of the high officials of the company, so personally got to know some of them. What ewre they like? THey were nice, appreciated the transportation? Some of them were from the war? yeah. remember which ones? A guy named cant hink of his name, the president of the company, what did he serve in? 33:10 He was the washerman I think the whole time? I had other guys that , I cant think of their names.
- 33:45 Joined the company and called up for the reserve, and went to El Toro, what were you being informed of the war, and what was about to be coming haead? We were gonna be sent to Wansan Korea island, and heck I was sent to wansan and its in NK, so I flew out of there and then we moved up to a place called Yanpo near up tot a reseveoir, flew out of there until we came home.
- 35:35 You were in a place now under a country that restricts mostly access to go there, whats your perspetive on that? Well I think they gave them a tough time I think, the Korean people yeah.
- 35:55 Didi you fly Corsairs during Korea? Yeah. You never got the chance to fly the F84 or F86? Yeah never did. Never flew jets at all. DId you ever want to fly jets? Well yeah I did, but I was happy to fly the Corsair again. Yall probably did CAS. yeah we did a lot of CAS. Did you almost get shot down. Well some of them did, I never was hit. Was the lucky one yeah. Did you change into a different squadron? Yeah 214, blacksheep squadron. THere was a bunch of veterans already in there? Yeah all of them yeah. Any from 323? Not there wasn't? Yeah was new to the new group. Since he never went into jets, he never went down into MiG alley. DId you ever encounter any MiG-15? No never did. What did they tell you to do if you ever encountered one? Well they wanted air force to take care of the MiGs, they had F86s and that kind of stuff. What did they tell you to do if encountered on in Corsair? They didn't tell us to do anything. You could probably outturn them.
- 38:25 Did you ever go into the North Korean South Korean citie or towns while there. Well yeah Wansan is in Nk, went into town there. It was a regular town it was like. ANy particular incidents or stories during that time. All just day job for Joe there. Did ever lose friends there? Yeah I did yeah.
- 39:20 What was mother's reaction to when she got the news she got back into service. Well I don't know, she wasn't al that happy that I was going back but it wasn't nothing she could do about it.
- 40:00 You told me you flew off of a carrier? Yeah I did. Could you tell me a little more about that experience? Wel lyeah it was neat, they did what they call field carrier practice and you know they have a landing LSO Landing Signal Officer, and he waves you in and gives you cut, land and take off and come around and do it again. I got my training and Sicily was a Jeep carrier, it was only 600 feet long. Yeah it was a little harder to learn. Story is that they taxied me onto the catapult the first time, and soon as they got me hooked up the gave me the offbreak signal, and we sat there and watched them shoot a guy off on the right side, and we saluted and pulled the cord to it and took off and came back to the ready room and there was a sign up on the wall and chalkboard said McPhail reluctant warrior,a nd I said whats wrong and they said you took off with your breaks on. And I know when I poured the cold all to it, my feet automatic went on the break, didn't intend to do it, but they did. And they could see the blue smoke, bit wasn't any damage done to the plane. SO there was smoke coming out. Why did yo uhave to land on the carrier. Wel lthey wanted the squadron to operate off the carrier. Wasn't stationed on the carrier for very long, probably about two months.
- 42:55 WHen was that you were stationed? It was 1951, the war started in 1950, that summer of 50. What was your developing opinoin about Communism and its like takeover of the world and whatnot. We were opposed to communists of all types, those Chinese and all of them. It seemed like the UN was gonna win at the time, then the Chineses were gonna win. Did you go all the way up to where the near the border where the UN forces had pushed up to. Well I don't think I went that far, you know we went up to Yongpo which is south of resevoir, as far north as wel went up to. DId you ever meet any members of the UN forces? No enever did, mostly just Americans and such. We were in Marine bases. Did ever meet SK soldiers? No enever did, you know they were pretty good fighters the SKs.
- 45:10 Take me through the ending stages of the war in Korea. Well heck I was overseas for only 10 months, flew 100 missions during that time. BUt then was stationed in Dallas for 2 years and the war ended. Why were you, were you discharged after 10 months? No I was still in the reserve, and thats how I got to make Bird Colonel. Why did they make you a colonel? Well time, length of time. When you went back, did you ever do training or anything like that? No I did not, went to another squadron, well a training squadron. Don't remember what that one was called, it was stationed out of Dallas. End of training anyone? Yeah just went home. Well went out of CA again, but I didn't ever go overseas again. And so after did you ever hope to go back, did you stay in the reserve? Yeah. DId you hope you might go back someday? Wel lI wanted to get my time in. Heck I went in probably as a captain, then I made major, then Lt Colonel, and then Colonel. I was in what they called a weekend warrior, a reserve training, and go to CA drive to CA and for two weeks active dutym, and then drive back. Did training, CAS all that kind of business, training for that.
- 49:00 Even while I was a weekend warrior I stayed in with the Oil company, you know. After that what did you do after the war? Stayed with the company, until about 19, cant even reemember, spent 32 years with the company.
- 49:45 ANything else you would like to say? No I think thats about it. How did you meet your wife? Well I was at North Carolina Marine base Cherry point NC, and I met her, she was a tower operator, was a master sergeant, and we went on a trip with her and a couple other girls, up to Washington, and we got ot be good friends, and so I got out went back to Dallas and she got out and went to Dallas too, and went to work for Delta airlines in the reservation system. She was a tower operator at Sharepoint, but anyway we finally got married starting having kids. 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.
- 52:00 Thats all you want to say? Yeah What advice to future generations? Well I wanted to fly fighters, and chose the Marine Corps, and they didn't have any patrol planes, or transports or anything like that, so I think anyone that wanted to fly fighters they should choose the Marine Corps. Do you think the Marine Air Corps was superior? Well I don't think Superior, but its his personal preference, it was good duty. DId you stay in touch with friends after the war? Well not too much. I was busy with my company.
WWII Marine Pilot Col Joe McPhail Veteran Tales
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeV3D-Ugi_8
Col Joe Mcphail, grew up in East Texas, Graduated from High school in 1939, went into service in 1941 just baout 3 day sbefore Pearl Harbor, got my wings in October 42, went overseas in Jan 43 flying Wildcats in fighter squadron, was overseas 14 months, didn't do much for that time just occupying islands so the Japanese couldn't get them. Came back and instructed and went back overseas in Jan 1945. Joined VMF 323 Death Rattlers they were called, ended up on Okinawa, stayed there until june 15 1945 then went to Peleliu, stayed there until the war ended. Was in the reserve got called back in 1 August 1950 went to Korea and flew 102 Missions, in ten months, came home and that was all my military experience. Flew 140 missions total in WWII. So had a total of 240 missions, got two airplanes got a zero and a Nate. I tell everyone I wrecked three American Airplanes and shot down two Japanese airplanes, so I consider myself a generic ace.
I was with three out of three divisions wit 12 airplanes and ventured first day out of Okinawa on that 12 April just happened to remember it. We climbed to 22,000 feet and they were some veterans sayng there was some bogeys. There were some clouds and we didn't see anything. Joe looked down real low and saw some blue airplane chasing some brown airplane, said well I'm gonna go check him out, well went down about 2.000 feet, and there were four zeros in fornt of me, 2:37 so I kind of picked over Taylor and Charlie and the pieces started coming off of them and he blew up and I passed him up and Id let down I had on full throtle. And so I think there's three Japanese airplanes behind me and I said I wanna get out of here, so I rolled over and started down and reached compressibility, an airframe could only go so fast but stayed got to jumping around and I pulled out about 9,000 feel went on back to the base.
- 3:15 Second airplane that day was you know no dogfighting or anything, never did see me, was about 1,000 feet, a Nate, a fixed geared Japanese airplane they had. He just rolled over and went into the water.
- 3:40 The corsair had much more power and the Wildcat had about a thousand horsepower had a Pratt Whitney 1830 and the Corsair had a Pratt Whitney R2800, had 2000 Horsepower, a lot lot different, it had the power. Corasir was a good flying airplane
- 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.
- 5:00 You know the Wildcat was pretty, it could be tough on the ground it really could, you know especially in a crosswind. I ground with one of my three airplanes I tore up, I grounded a wildcat on Samoa on takeoff, thats one of three yeah. Another Wildcat is still out there in the Pacific ocean at the bottom of it, I've ran out of fuel and had to land in the water and fortunately they picked me up in a PT boat. Only about three hours in the water. It was a long three hours, I was in a landing boat it was a heavy sea, the airplane kind of stalled out but I hit a wave, hit on it and kind of, boy I had that shoulder harness on so so tight I couldn't hardly breathe but my nose hit the gunsight it was right up here (at nose level). But anyway I got in the water and they knew that I was down and I saws only about 20 miles from the island and they sent out airplanes looking for me and they didn't see me for about an hour and a half. Finally I put dye marker in the water and itw as such as current that it was just a little thin line
Kingsville 2018 AIrshow interview with Michael Gibson Three news:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNTPWOltfvw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z2i4c4GBTg
Joe is a WWII fighter pilot. 96 at the time of 2018. He was a Marine Combat Pilot, in the Death Rattlers squadron, who flew the Corsair. McPhail is here for the airshow and rememebrs when he trained here and over at NAS Corpus Christi. Eventually, he was sent to the Pacific Theatre, and ended up providing CAS for troops fighting the Japanese on South Pacific Island. He shot down 2 enemy planes. Joe saw four zeros and shot down the Tail end charlie. and I went on past him and I thought "Well gosh there's three zeros behind me I better get out of here. Later he caught a Japanese pilot by surprise. He was by himself at about 1000 feet from the water. I shot him down and he just rolled over went right into the water so there wasn't any dogfighting. Joe had no doubt in his mindduring those uncertain times of who was going to win [the war]. We knew we were gonna win, we had confidence in ourselves. He even flew a Corsair during the Korean war, and he was ready to get back into the cockpit. We were honorable people, we wanted to win and protect the country. Im kind of sorry Im not still involed, Id like to help them even today.
Joe McPhail American Warriors interview Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-GaK4oryNA
https://americanwarriors.com/project/joe-mcphail/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeUmXnuDaAU
I wanted to fly fighters, they said the Marine Corps was the best place to go, figured that was the cheapest way to do it, let them pay for it. I tireid to get in, I wasn't old enough, soon as I got be 20 I was sworn in. But I wasn't called for active duty until 4 December 1941, 3 days before Pearl Harbor. Took ten months to go through flight school, got wings in October 1942. First time went overseas flew the Grumman F4F Wildcat. and it was pretty primitive airplane, didn't have a hydraulic system, cranked her to get her up and cranked her to get her down. You charged the guns with a cable tha tran out to tthe wings, I ended up on this island of Samoa, and went up to a little island in the central Pacific below about 700 miles south of Tarawa. The Japanese were bombing us at night, had to get in the foxhole, had to tolerate it, 2:05 didn't have any air to air they came down to bomb us but they always bombed us at night. We werent able to compete with them, si I really do much the first 13 months overseas. The Japanese were movinb that direction, they were in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands, so we were to keep them from moving any fyrinter south. First deployment was 13 months, that was all about 1943. And then I came back and I instructed and got in the Corsairs.
3:05 The wildcat didn't have a hydraulic system, the Corsair did, you charged the guns hydraulicly, raised the wings, even raised the gear hydraulically, where the Wildcat you cranked. They claimed that the Japanese nicknamed the Corsair the "Whistling Death". I had about 1025 hours int he corsair, never had an accident or anything, so Im pretty well impressed with it it had a lot of power. Went back overseas in January 1945, shot down two airplanes in, Japanese airplanes, first fight was 12 April 1945, we climbed to 20,000 feet, looking for airplanes, and finally the fighter director vectored us North and we didn't see any and so I looked down low and saw some airplanes, and so I decided to go down and check them out, I kind of broke through some clouds and there was four zeros right in front of me, and so I picked on the tail end Charlie and he exploded and I went on past him and thought well gosh there's three of them behind me so I rolled over and I went down and I reached compressability the stick got the jumping around, but I pulled up about 9,000 feet said I was going home. I didn't think it about me hurting abnybody in that airplane at all, but I knew he was after me and I was after him, it was pretty exiciting. I thought well this is what I have been looking for a long time.
Joe McPhail American Warriors interview Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ViTA2MnbcI
- 0:50 [On Okinawa] We carried rockets, Napalm, 500 pound bombs, 50 calibers, 650 calibers, 2400 rounds. You could do a lot of damage, and we did a lot of CAS there on Okinawa. Im happy to help the guys on the ground, but I think thats what the Marine Corps needed, some support from the air. We took off rom Kadina and I was only at about 1000 feet and I saw this Nate, a fixed geared airplane and it was a Kamikaze, down there not to go back, Joe made sure he stayed down there. Joe got behind him the Nate not ever seeing him and just rolled over went into the water. That was his second kill. Joe had a lot of friends of mine that were aces five kills, but Joe never got that chance. You know the war ended in say like October they had us flying not to do any damage not to drop any bombs or anything, we had patrols to do we weren't sure the Japanese were going to quit, after that I went back to school, got my degree at SMU in Dallas but I was called up again in 1950 for Korea.
- 3:05 January 1950 I deployed to Korea, we were stationed in Wansan NK, then we moved up to Yongpole which is there a Ham Hung near the resevoir. Wasn't any air to air for us, so. we did a lot of CAS though, especially during Chosun resevoir. It was you know pretty high altitude, was up at about 5000 feet, the airplane didn't do quite as well as on the ground. The higher you go the worse it gets. I flew 100 missions in 10 months, and went home. I flew 1025 hours in the Corsair pilot at 101 years of age. Ill be 102 in October. I have two distinguished flying crosses. The DFC highest ranked ribbon Joe had, my entire service I flew 240 missions, Im most proud of shooting down the two Japanese airplanes. I have flown 17,000 hours in airplanes, and 4000 was in the wars, rest was in civilian, feel blessed to do all of that, would do it all over again.
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