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One Man's Story
The Life and Times of 93-year-old Bill McCall By Heather V. Long
James William McCall has done many things in his life, but to his family, he is one of a kind.
McCall was born Nov. 14, 1910 on the 160 acres of land his father gained during the Oklahoma land rush in the late 1800s.
"My father is the most interesting person I know," says Linda Long of Garland, Texas. "He has so many stories to tell, and all you have to do is just sit and listen. He remembers places and people and can recite them all off like it was yesterday."
"The car broke down between Bakersfield and Fresno," says McCall. "I had to finesse a few parts and get them to fit the car. We went to Folsom and stayed with an aunt of mine for a while. I ended up giving her the car and then hopped a freight train back home."
"He was always borrowing or trading cars or hopping freight trains and going off to see the country," says daughter, Linda. "In spite of the fact that jobs were hard to come by, he didn't seem to have any problems finding work. Among other things, he snapped cotton, shucked corn for 6 cents a bushel, picked cherries, leveled land and dug irrigation ditches."
McCall achieved the rank of master sergeant, the highest rank that can be attained for a non-commissioned officer. He was assigned to airplane maintenance in the 308th Bomb Group, 425th Squadron. He was stationed at a base in China and was responsible for keeping the planes airborne. His planes were called the Homesick Susie, Susie's Sister and the Burma Queen. Ground crews were not required to fly or go behind enemy lines. "But if they needed someone to go and repair a plane, I volunteered," says McCall. "That's one of the reasons I got so many three-day passes and spent time in India on leave."
McCall was awarded the Bronze Star Medal Citation for "distinguishing himself through meritorious service in direct support of combat operations from 28 July 1943 to 9 October 1944."
The citation reads: "It is directly attributable to Master Sergeant McCall's skill and energy that his planes flew more hours and hit the enemy more frequently than could normally have been expected under the unfavorable conditions existing in China."
