History Made: World War II veterans cap off Rose City Airfest

Published 8:26 pm Saturday, July 3, 2021

The first-ever Rose City Airfest featured acrobatic and patriotic flying displays by jet fighters and war planes at the Tyler Pounds Regional Airport on Friday night in front of thousands.

On Saturday, the pilots and crew who are spending three days taking the public up on rides on the historic World War II B-17 bomber planes like the Devil Dog and the Texas Raiders had an unusual task.

During the pre-flight briefing, they kept losing their train of thought as they were telling two passengers where to sit and how to buckle. Those passengers, Ralph Coleman Graham and Joe McPhail, are both 99.

They also go by U.S. Army Air Forces member Ralph Coleman Graham and U.S. Marine Corp. Col. Joe McPhail. They fastened those same type seat belts, sat in the radio operator and pilot seats nearly 80 years ago as World War II veterans.

Neither needed assistance getting in the B-17. They both smiled like kids as the plane took off, thinking of their friends. Between the two, they flew close to 300 successful missions.

Graham admits “not all the memories are good.” As he gripped the machine gun pointing out the side window, he recalled, “I shot a hell of a lot of planes down with this.”

The Tyler Morning Telegraph was invited on the flight with Graham and McPhail to document the trip on video, photos and a story. They flew nearly 40 minutes over Tyler and Smith County.

“It was a little different than the fighters I am used to,” McPhail said. “The flying I did in the military, I was the only one in there.”

“It was great, it was a little bit rough. We had a little trouble getting up during the warm-up procedure (four engines) but we had a good flight, you betcha, I really enjoyed it,” McPhail added.

Garrett Bragg of the Commemorative Air Force Gulf Coast Wing asked Graham as he sat at his old radio operator seat, “Is anything missing?”

Graham answered, “Nope, I think it’s all about there.”

Between World War II and the Korean War, McPhail flew 242 successful missions. He moved from Grand Saline to Tyler in 1937 and graduated from Tyler High, the only school in the city. Graham, who lives in Henderson County, flew 33 successful missions over Germany as a member of the 8th Air Force.

Bragg put it into perspective.

“Every time we go up on these flights, we tell the passengers, ‘We are keeping their legacy alive.’ But this is what it is really about,” Bragg said. “To go up with guys who were there and served in these aircrafts? Watching Ralph sitting in his old radio position, it doesn’t get any better than that.”

In a private moment between Bragg, McPhail and Graham, Bragg started to get emotional as he spoke.

“We are honored you guys were willing to come up and fly with us. We appreciate what you guys did for us,” Bragg said, fighting back emotions.

Graham put his hand on his shoulder so Bragg could finish. “What ya’ll did allows us to be here today doing what we are doing so we appreciate you and the other veterans very much.”

McPhail turned to Bragg and said, “ It was great, a terrific flight. I was glad I could be involved.”

Proceeds from Friday night’s first-ever airshow benefitted CampV in Tyler, a 20-acre facility for veterans, active military and their families to receive helpful resources, such as employment information, mental health assistance and answers about veteran benefits.