Commander James D McGill

Commander James D. McGill “Jim” was born on August 17, 1922, in Houston, TX. He made his final takeoff on January 16, 2015. He attended Weatherford College (Texas) on a “football scholarship”. Upon the advent of WWII, he joined the Navy V-5 Program and received his wings May 15, 1944, at Corpus Christi Naval Air Training Center. He was a Seaplane Pilot and joined Air Sea Res cue Squadron THREE (VH-3) at NAS Alameda (CA). He participated in the rescue of 26 downed airmen, requiring open sea landings, in the South Pacific, and always in hostile territory. This resulted in his being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and 6 Air Medals. The squadron rescued over 125 downed airmen and was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation. He was awarded numerous lesser medals and two battle stars for service in the two Jima and Okinawa Campaigns. He moved to Pensacola as he deemed that of all the places he had lived it was the best. He was enjoying Space Available Traveling on Military Flights, cruises and motor trips until his last days. He, truly, lived life to the fullest. Jim was very generous with his time and money and helped many work their way through problems. Jim is survived by many relatives; but, the main one is his wife, Pauline. She was able to accompany him on many of his cruises and tours including the Oberammergau in 2010, (Passion Play) held every 10 years in Germany. Another trip was for 40 days by POV (Privately Owned Vehicle) to all of the major National Parks in the US. She, also, is a Master Chef and provided him with many outstanding meals. Jim was a member of Christ Church Pensacola for over 15 years and a celebration of his life service will be held for him there on January 29, 2015 beginning at 10:30 a.m. A graveside service will be held shortly after beginning at 1:15 p.m. with full military honors for Commander McGill on the same date at Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola, FL.