1LT McGirr | jd-lock

Andrew (Ange) J. McGirr

1LT, US Army Air Force

9 Mar 1942 - 10 Jan 1946

Bombardier – Navigator

Pacific Theater

"You [John] are the most capable man we know."

Ange McGirr

Father in Law

Thanks, Ange; you placed 'cross hairs' on my chest with the family xox 77

The War Years

In full disclosure, Ange McGirr is my father-in-law and, while that may be a fact, I can unbiasedly state that he was one of the most gifted liberal arts intellects I've ever met.

That aside, it was only after his passing in September 2001, that I set about to research in greater detail what he'd told me over time. What I found was that he had 'low balled' his wartime service and experience which proved to be extraordinary and exceptionally understated by a most humble man.

Enlisting shortly after Pearl Harbor and commissioned in the Army Air Corps as a B-25 Mitchell, medium bomber, navigator - bombardier, LT Ange McGirr would go on to fly 71 combat missions in the Pacific, 68 of those missions as the squadron's lead bomber.

Starting with Tarawa, he flew traditional bombing runs, attacked and sank a Japanese destroyer, volunteered for a dangerous reconnaissance mission which resulted in the award of a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), flew close air support (CAS) for the invasion of Okinawa for which the squadron was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation (the unit equivalent of the Distinguished Service Cross - DSC) and, eventually, flew missions against mainland China and southern Japan.

Perhaps, one of the most stunning revelations was found in the squadron's mission log ... the date of 9 August 1945 - Nagasaki, the second atomic bombing. As circumstances would have it, the squadron's target that day was Nagasaki. Having been briefed on the mission the evening of 8 August, the next morning they were redirected to another target approximately 60 miles away, from where they watched the world altering 'mushroom cloud' rising in the distance - an amazing observance of horrific history in the making.

I'd also be remiss if I were not to mention that my own life was personally impacted by Ange's wartime service for, if it had not been for his flying with the squadron commander, a young Lieutenant Colonel just a few years out of West Point, my future father in law would not have decades later sat me down one evening following my enlistment in the Army ... I was on what I call a 'first date' ... and recommend to me after I'd mentioned I wanted to become a commissioned officer, "Have you ever thought of West Point?"

A 'sliding door' moment that changed the trajectory of my life.

More to follow as I begin to flesh out this section at a future date ...