The Okie Legacy

Tribute To Father
[written 4 August 1998]

I have been blessed recently with communications with a few people who have been Emailing great memories and stories about my father (Gene McGill).

There are a lot of people who think they know my father and what he was really like. Some of those people gossiped about him behind his back. Those that did, didn't really know or understand him at all. My Dad didn't much care for or respect those that gossiped. Just one of the good traits I received from my Father!

I remember father in the 1960s when he was involved in Oklahoma State Politics and was Oklahoma State Chairman of the Democratic Party with his office in Oklahoma City at the Biltmore Hotel.

Everyone was treated as his equal. From the homeless - To the wealthiest - To the color of your skin. Everyone was equal in his eyes and deserved the same amount of respect and treatment.

Hey, Dad! If you're looking down on your four daughters now, I hope you like what you see in this one daughter (me). I am the best part of you and each of my sister's are another part of you.

Father's Flying Farmer Days

A recent connection, Les Jacobs, reminded me of some wonderful memories of my father that some of you might remember and some may have forgotten.

Les says, "Gene McGill was one hell of a pilot. He is one of the few survivors who flew the "Hump in WWII."

Update On "The Hump" In WWII

I got to thinking about the "Hump in WWII" and my dad. So I went to the Web in search of some information. Gene had a brother, Bob McGill, that was in WWII overseas. Perhaps Bill Hackett & Les Jacobs may have gotten Gene confused with his brother, Bob McGill's, WWII record?

I looked up on the Web some information about the "Hump" and this is what I found out at the following URL for "Vets Commemorate CBI Campaign" - www.af.mil/news/May1995/n19950522_517.html.

"The campaign provided a constant flow of supplies to air and ground Allied Forces deep within China and Southeast Asia. Pilots took off and landed on primitive, quickly constructed airfields. Often flying three round trips a day over what many consider the most treacherous air route in the world."

"Crews wrestled C-46s, C-47s and C-54s over the 500-mile route that ran from bases in Assam, India, over northern Burma to Kunming, China. Maj. Gen. Eugene Sterling holds the distinction of having flown one of the first C-46 transports from the United States to India to join the campaign he and other crews quickly dubbed these aerial supply missions -- "The Hump". Since the voyage took them over the Himalayas, the world's highest mountain range that peaks at more than 29,000 feet with Mount Everest."

Unless there was another "Hump" in America during WWII to pilot supplies here in America, I believe Les Jacobs & Bill Hackett may have gotten my Dad confused with his brother, Robert L. McGill (aka Bob McGill, or my Uncle Bob).

Back To the Rest of the Story

Les goes on to tell, "The pilots in Northwest Oklahoma would tell you that if you got into trouble in the air, the best chance of coming out alive would be to have Gene McGill in the airplane with you! He was an Ace!"

In the 60's, Gene had a Cessna 180 (a real pilots airplane, I'm told). The same thing as a Cessna 182 (or Skylane) except that it had conventional gear. [ie: two wheels and a tail wheel as opposed to the tricycle gear that he had on the 210 which he acquired later]. The reason he had the airplane with the conventional landing gear was so he could land it at the ranch north of Waynoka.

That newer plane (210 Cessna) has a unique landing story of its own. It included a time when the landing gear did not come down and he made a belly landing at the Alva Airport. Only Gene could accomplish something like that with minor scratches to the belly of the airplane and the passengers and the pilot escaping without injury.

The Skydiving Story

Les Jacobs remembered the time that Buddy Pettit and a friend of theirs (Dave Cotten) had parachutes and the necessary gear for skydiving, but didn't have a jump plane.

One night after talking at the VFW Supper Club those three guys persuaded Gene into flying them. They attached a 2X4 across the entry steps of the 180 Cessna in order to crawl out of the plane in the air and stand on the board, hanging on to the wing strut, and drop from the airplane into a stable position.

Les says, "They had to remove the right hand door and take the passenger front seat out of the plane to prepare it for jumping."

From what Les says, "We had a great day and your father refused to let us pay for the time on the plane and the fuel he burned hauling us to 12000 feet. Great guy, your dad."

Denver Airport Story

There was the time that Gene took off in Denver and realized he was on an airstrip that had been abandoned and had a fence across it. He was probably the only person in the world who could handle the trauma. He bounced the plane over the fence - recovered - flew away and then flew directly to the FAA headquarters in OKC and raised "holy hell" with the big dogs in the FAA. He cleaned house and gave them one of the best "ass chewings" they had ever had.

In one man words, "He has been considered by many as 'fearless'."

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