Joseph “Mac” McCormick and his son
Following the tragic shootings in Chattanooga on July 16, 98-year-old veteran and Life Care Center of Ooltewah resident Joseph “Mac” McCormick reflected on his time in the military and the appreciation it gave him of his Chattanooga home.
“I started applying [for the Army Air Corps] when I was 22 years old,” said Mr. McCormick. “I started applying all the time, everywhere. I got married. I knew the draft was getting people, but I told my wife I wanted to volunteer.”
Mr. McCormick successfully joined the Army Air Corps in 1943, around the age of 26.
During his time in the service, Mr. McCormick had the opportunity to see more of the country then he ever had: Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, North Carolina, California and more.
Just as his love for his country was growing ever stronger, he was deployed. His squadron was sent to the Philippines to join the forces responsible for dropping bombs on Japan. The trip was nothing short of difficult, however, as his squadron’s ships were attacked by Japanese kamikaze pilots.
“About six or seven days into the trip, the Japanese started attacking our convoy,” Mr. McCormick said. “They hit the ships on either side of ours, and then they sent out a destroyer with a big hook pulling bodies out of the water. We were all scared to death."
Upon safe arrival in the Philippines, Mr. McCormick was responsible for flying a B-25 bomber and dropping bombs on specified targets.
Around this same time, Mr. McCormick also had the opportunity to fly with world-famous pilot Charles Lindbergh, one of Mr. McCormick’s favorite memories.
“Lindbergh had flown into our area to refuel,” Mr. McCormick said. “He was looking over the controls of one of our planes, and the commanding officer asked him if he would like to fly one. Lindbergh said yes, then looked around at all us men and pointed at me and said, ‘Would you like to fly with me?’ and I said ‘Yeah, I’ll go with you!’”
Though McCormick experienced great memories like the flight with Lindbergh, the fear and reality of war could not be stifled indefinitely. With each successful bombing mission, his squadron moved closer and closer to enemy territory.
One fateful night, things changed in an instant.
“We were briefed to go to Okinawa,” Mr. McCormick said. “[The Japanese] had a base there. We were ready to fly out that morning. Then [the commanding officer’s voice] came over the speaker and said ‘The Japanese have surrendered!’ Oh boy, were we proud!”
After several months, Mr. McCormick and his men were informed they were finally being flown back to the U.S.
“One morning they came up to us and said ‘We’re flying home!’” Mr. McCormick said. “Was I excited to get home!”
Upon arrival in Washington state, transportation was almost impossible due to the large influx of returning soldiers and only worsened when a huge transportation strike occurred. Mr. McCormick said more than anything he just wanted to get home and see his wife.
“There were five of us friends, and we made a beeline to the nearest bus station,” Mr. McCormick recalled.
“After getting a ticket, the driver looked at us and said, ‘Look, I’ll take you as far as I can go, but if the strike doesn’t get the bus contract approved, I’m parking this sucker and you’re on your own.’”
Mr. McCormick and his friends were able to make the long trip across the country to Memphis before the driver informed them the contract had been turned down and he wasn’t going to drive any further.
Mr. McCormick, desperate to be reunited with his wife and the place he called home, got creative.
“I decided the five of us should go in together and find someone to sell us a car and split the cost,” Mr. McCormick stated. “We finally found someone to sell us his car… thing didn’t even get us out of Memphis [before it broke down].”
Mr. McCormick and his friends then walked to airports in hopes to catch a plane… with no luck. Days passed, and then Mr. McCormick heard the train industry had settled a contract through the transportation strike, so they caught a train to Chattanooga. The train took a detour through Mississippi, and, at this time, he had his first opportunity to send his wife a telegram.
“They asked me if I wanted to, and I said, ‘Of course! I need to send a telegram to my wife!’” McCormick said.
Metta, Mr. McCormick’s wife, was so ecstatic to hear from her husband that she left work at the hospital and told her family the news.
“They wanted to come with her to meet me, and she told them, ‘No you won’t! I’m going to meet him by myself!’” retold McCormick, smiling.
Mr. McCormick admitted that being reunited with his wife, family and home was one of the happiest moments of his life.
“It took me three months to get back… to get back home,” Mr. McCormick said with tears in his eyes. “We bought this little house, a real home, right on Shallowford Road. We paid $5,000 for it.”
He and his wife were married for 50 years, and together they raised three boys.
"Veterans didn’t just fight in the war: They fought for a place to call home and a family to come back to," Mr. McCormick said.
Mr. McCormick found it difficult to explain his feelings about his time in the war, but when asked what mattered most he explained, “Family is what is important.”