Joe McPhail | WWII Corsair Pilot | Part 1 |

Young Marine Corp pilot Joe McPhail was commissioned and went active duty just 3 days before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Quickly his unit was graduated and the fleet of Grumman F4F Wildcats deployed to the Pacific theatre where they waited out the nerve-wracking aerial Japanese bombardments. His second deployment to Okinawa, now outfitted with the state-of-the-art F4U Corsair, focused on air to ground support and aerial combat. He received two confirmed kills in that 10-month deployment.

In 1950, he was recalled and sent to North Korea to fight the Chinese and North Koreans in the unforgiving terrain of the Chosin Reservoir. He was awarded the distinguished flying cross and numerous air medals, and at 102 years old is the oldest living F4U Corsair pilot remaining.

This is Part 1 of his story.