Joe K. McPhail was born in Carthage, Mississippi and grew up there. He joined the CCC [Annotator's Note: Civilian Conservation Corps] camp in August 1941. He was a participant in the CCC for two or three years. In the latter stages, he went to Corvallis, Oregon and stayed there for over a year. He returned to Jackson, Mississippi and got married. He had been happily married for 64 years at the time of this interview [Annotator's Note: July 2010]. From the point of his marriage, he spent his career in the automobile business. For McPhail and other young people, the CCC was a very good experience. With the bad weather in Oregon, McPhail volunteered to learn to cook. He made chief cook and that was his responsibility during the duration of his military service. He returned to Jackson, Mississippi and was married in 1946. The CCC camp had 965 members. The camp and commanders were very good. Living conditions were very good. The members needs were supplied. They lived in barracks. The food was good all the time. McPhail enjoyed every day he was in the CCC. When Pearl Harbor was attacked [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], he was in the CCC but remembers little of the event. The training in the camp was very good. He was trained in several jobs. He entered the steward department and liked that job. It was a major part of his subsequent life. The trainers wanted their men to know what they were doing. Some of the mountainous training was rough. The men knew what they were doing following their training. McPhail made chief cook as a young man. He made good money in his leadership position in the steward department. The strict discipline was part of what McPhail enjoyed in the CCC training.

Joe K. McPhail signed up for the Merchant Marine in Mobile, Alabama. His uncle, Olan Nicholson, and aunt [Annotator's Note: no given name provided] lived there. He trained at Saint Petersburg, Florida. He was given good training and instructions beyond his formal ninth grade education. He was satisfied with the education and enjoyed it. He shipped out of New Orleans, Louisiana on the USS Roanoke [Annotator's Note: unable to verify vessel] through the Panama Canal. It was almost unreal for McPhail to voyage through the Canal Zone. The ship returned to New Orleans after making several ports in South America. Afterward, he sailed the QS-34 [Annotator's Note: QS-34 or Quick Supply Boat 34] that traveled fast. He signed a 12 month contract for that assignment. The QS-34 made 35 miles per hour in and out of the islands of the South Pacific. He sailed to New Guinea and the Philippines by way of Hawaii. He did not have a chance to get off the ship on those islands. The crew of 30 was well trained and McPhail felt secure on the 104 foot long ship. Because of its small size, it had to be towed over to the islands. The vessel traveled interisland and moved frequently. He always felt safe. The ship eventually made its way to Okinawa and other islands. Fighting was still underway in the Philippines so the ship stayed on the outer edge. The same was true of Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. He could hear the fighting going on, but his small vessel was not engaged. The QS-34 carried personnel and little cargo. He felt safe on his ship. There was little gunnery on the ship. McPhail did not handle the weapons so he was not familiar with them. There were 28 vessels in the convoy when McPhail was deployed. He stayed in the Philippines and Okinawa for about two years. He went ashore on Okinawa. It was a rough place. He heard the fighting but saw little of it. Many troops were lost on the island during the combat.

Joe K. McPhail was satisfied with his living quarters on his 104 foot long boat [Annotator's Note: the quick supply boat QS-34] in the Merchant Marine. There were enough weapons and trained individuals to protect the crew. Quarters were not too cramped. Because of fuel carrying limitations, the ship had to be towed over during its overseas deployment. Supplies were provided to the ship en route to New Guinea and the Philippines. The ship was under its own power while on missions between islands. Storage limitations required McPhail to order what the galley needed when it arrived in port [Annotator's Note: he served as chief cook on the vessel]. It also obtained supplies from larger vessels. Steaks were available occasionally. The food was pretty good. The supply ships tried to take care of the smaller vessels that depended upon them. When McPhail arrived in Manila [Annotator's Note: Manila, Luzon, Philippines], he transferred to a larger ship for a different mission to Shanghai [Annotator's Note: Shanghai, China]. He managed to go to the Seamen's Hall and enjoyed being off the ship for two or three days with nothing to do. At Shanghai, McPhail's boat was being worked on. Shanghai was quite different from Mississippi. [Annotator's Note: McPhail chuckles.] Music was constant there. Most local people did not pay attention to him but were good to the crewmen. After Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan], the ship sailed to several smaller islands. Many of the missions were not revealed to the crew. There were six or eight military personnel aboard the ship. The crew were not aware of what the military tasks were. McPhail had two or three years of service in the Merchant Marine. He heard Tokyo Rose [Annotator's Note: nickname given by Allied servicemen to any English speaking female radio personality broadcasting Japanese propaganda in the Pacific Theater] while he was sailing the Pacific. He remembers little about what he heard. He was sad to hear about FDR's [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] death. Roosevelt was well thought of. Returning home was really good. The crew was separated because the QS-34 remained in Theater after they were returned Stateside. After his 12 month contract ended with the Merchant Marine, he and some of his fellow crewmen were returned to San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California]. He was near Okinawa when he heard of the Japanese surrender [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945]. It was good news but hard to believe the Japanese had surrendered. After arriving in San Francisco, it took several weeks to get back to Mississippi because of the large numbers of returning military personnel.

After the war, Joe K. McPhail returned to Mississippi and went into the automobile business as a result of his father's wishes. His father had been associated with automobiles prior to that time. McPhail had a younger brother and sister. McPhail joined the Merchant Marines because he knew he had to serve somehow. He met a seaman who convinced him of it [Annotator's Note: serving in the United States Merchant Marine] being a good thing. He may not have been drafted because he had an asthmatic condition. He signed up in Jackson [Annotator's Note: Jackson, Mississippi] and went to Mobile [Annotator's Note: Mobile, Alabama]. The ships of the Merchant Marine were manned by experienced crewmen and skippers who did an outstanding job. It is important to be a strong nation with our military being on top of things. That helped us win the victory in World War 2. The Merchant Marine did a really good job of aiding the effort to win the war. Museums like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] are very good to help the population know what went on during that war. The highly trained personnel of today might help the country do even better in current conflicts. McPhail's small craft [Annotator's Note: McPhail served as chief cook aboard the quick supply ship, QS-34, in the Pacific Theater] got into locations where larger ships could not access. The Merchant Marine lost more personnel than most people realize. It is important for the military to have good training. Today's forces do have good training. McPhail kept in touch after the war with a chief engineer from Savanah, Georgia as well as one or two others. The men he was associated with during the war were very dedicated. It strengthened our country. He never regretted any time he spent in the Merchant Marine. The training and instructions he received during his service were beneficial in his latter life. He met his wife shortly after returning home. They had a very happy married life.