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.”

Life on the Road
In 1917 at the age of 17, McCall and a friend drove a Model T Ford Coupe to Holly, Colo., to drop off another friend at his grandparents’ home. The teens traveled to Arizona where they stayed and worked for a couple of months and then finally moved on to California.

“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.”

A World at War
In 1941, after Pearl Harbor, McCall and friend, Clyde Bowman, went to San Francisco, Calif., and tried to join every branch of the army. “We were told that everything was full,” says McCall. “So we waited, and finally I was inducted into the Army Air Corp in February 1942.”

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.”

Post-War Life
Following the war, McCall went home to Oklahoma and began a two-and-a-half-year courtship with Eunice Moore, culminating in a marriage in 1947. He worked for Contadina Foods for the next 20 years and raised two children, Linda Carol and Gary Lee.

“Before he was married, Daddy’s hobby was really traveling,” says Linda. “But after, he liked to dance, grow gardens, do carpentry, electrical and plumbing work.” Linda’s two children, Scott Joseph and Chandra Beth, grew up with their grandfather in close attendance.

“My grandfather is a Renaissance man, he can do anything and everything,” says granddaughter, Chandra Long, 22, of Garland, Texas. “He is stubborn, but that runs in the family.”

“He’s probably the male center of my world,” says grandson, Scott Long, 31, of Leesburg, Va. “He’s old, but he’s always been strong. When I think of him, I think of him being a mechanic, how much I love him, how strong he is and how much I hope he just lives forever.”

Family Life
“Every day after elementary school he took me to Dairy Queen where everyone knew us and had my order before I even got to the window,” says Chandra. “I remember in preschool he took me to a donut shop and got me a donut every day before gymnastics.”

“I remember on Christmas mornings, he would sit in his big chair and watch us open presents,” says Scott. “He would get me up and drive me to school all the time and listen to me babble, and after school he always got me a burger and a soda. He got me dogs and took care of them when I didn’t.”

For Linda, having a strong and supportive father meant “if he told you it was going to be OK, it was.”

“Every time I’ve been hurt or physically scared in my life, he’s been there to support me,” says Scott. “I cut my toes severely when I was 12, and I wanted him to be there, just because he was him.”

“I remember going to the hospital when the grinding wheel shattered and cut the artery in his arm,” says Chandra. “There was blood all over the floor. It scared me because I was little and didn’t understand what was going on. I didn’t know what to think, but he told me everything was going to be OK, and I believed him. He was right. Everything turned out fine, and he came home like he said he would.”

A Full House
McCall continues to live in Garland, Texas, in the house he and his family moved to in 1977. His daughter, Linda, granddaughter, Chandra, and 3-year-old great-grandson, Xander, live with him.

“He can do anything,” says Chandra. “He works on my car, landscapes the front yard, trims the trees and helps put together a trampoline. He takes care of my son, who runs younger people ragged, fixes anything and everything, bakes and cooks, and he does all of this at the age of 93.”

“He loves without any interference from personality or interaction,” says Scott, who lives in Virginia with his wife and 2-year-old daughter and tries to make frequent visits to Garland. “He accepts everything. As a person, he’s the most incredibly interesting man in the world. A ‘history of Bill McCall’ would make a book that described the last century of the United States. The most valuable thing he taught me was to put one foot in front of the other and to always do what you have to do to take care of yourself and your family. Nothing else matters.”

Want to see more?

• Headstands and Breakfast in Bed
• The Second Time Around: The Special Joy of Grandparents
• Growing Up With Grandparents: Why You Should Make Your Parents Part of Your Child’s Life
• Talk about it!