Wilmur Murl McCown

Published 7:45 pm Monday, June 29, 2009

Wilmur Murl McCown

Funeral services for Wilmur Murl McCown, 92, of Cullman will be at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, 2009, at Hanceville Funeral Home Chapel, Fred Rivers officiating.

Hanceville Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. McCown died Friday, June 26, at Cullman Regional Medical Center. Wilmur Murl “Mac” McCown was born on July 5, 1916, in Urbana, Ill., as the youngest of three children to Arthur and Bertha McCown, an Illinois farming family. Following the stock market crash in 1929, his father moved the family to Urbana, IL and after a few years was able to open his own business in painting and general construction. The new business and hard work allowed all three children to attend and graduate from the University of Illinois. Mac majored in mechanical engineering and dairy technology, graduating in 1941. While in college, Mac lettered in track all four years, winning numerous awards and setting record times at many meets.

Four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Mac joined the Army Air Corps, was granted his application for pilot training, and sent to California for basic and advance training for nine months. Only 30 percent of pilot trainees passed the requirements to be fighter pilots, but Mac was one of them, graduating as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. In August 1942 he was shipped to Hawaii, then onto the 73rd Fighter Squadron, 318

Fighter Group, 7th Air Force on Midway Island. After a few months on Midway, Mac was qualified to fly A6s, P39s and P40s. After five months on Midway, Mac and his fellow pilots flew their P40s back to Hawaii, the longest over water flight for a P40 recorded up to that time. Back on Hawaii, Mac was promoted to first lieutenant. It was there that the pilots were trained to fly P47 Thunderbolts, a Republic Aviation aircraft designed to be able to take off from aircraft carriers. Following the capture of Saipan by our Marines, the P47 pilots and their aircraft were loaded onto a small jeep carrier and headed to the Mariana Islands. When close, the P47s launched from the deck of the small jeep carrier, only the second time that this aircraft had ever taken off from a carrier.

The mission of Mac’s unit was now upgraded to flying air cover for B-29 bombers flying out of Tinian to bomb the Japanese mainland. One of the few planes that survived a subsequent attack on his unit belonged to Captain Mac McCown, a plane he soon named ‘Kay-n-Tucky’ for his girlfriend and future wife, named Kay Lee Craven back in Kentucky.

After 10 months in Saipan, a promotion to CPT, the addition of P38 Lightnings to his unit, and the American capture of lwo Jima, the 73rd was moved further forward to continue air support for the bombers attacking the Japanese mainland. During his time on Iwo Shima, he received another promotion to major and was placed in command of 150 pilots. After three years of service he received a furlough and returned to Kentucky to propose to Kay. She accepted, but insisted that they wait until after the war to be married.

Upon his return to Iwo Jima, it was from there on Aug. 6,1945, that Mac flew a mission that would go down in history — flying cover for a B-29 bomber named the Enola Gay. Only later did he realize that the giant, mushroom-shaped cloud he had witnessed was the first use of the atomic bomb in the history of warfare.

After Japan surrendered on Aug. 14, 1945, he took a ship back to Seattle, then a train to Kentucky where he and Kay were married at the First Methodist Church in Louisville on Sept. 29,1945.

He retired from the newly renamed Air Force after his marriage and began his new life in Cleveland, Ohio, with an engineering job at Tellingbell Vernon, the same ice cream company he had worked for in college. Following other engineering jobs over an eight-year period at Ramsey Labaoratories and National Dairy on Long Island, he accepted an offer from Grumman Aircraft Corporation, now Northrup Grumman, to work as their Chief of Environmental Protection.

Their first child, Bonnie Lee, was born on Feb. 22, 1947, while they were still in Cleveland. Two other daughters were bom while he worked at National Dairy as their chief engineer. Holly Lynn on May 5, 1949, and Wendy Murl on April 20, 1952.

It was at Grumman Aircraft that he was became part of the “Race to the Moon” as he was placed in charge of the “clean room” where five lunar excursion modules were built, the last of which was LEM-5 that took Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrinto the moon’s surface on July 20, 1969, then back to earth. The names of Mac and all of the Grumman workers on the LEM Project are still on the moon on microfilm that was left when the LEM-5 left on its return voyage to earth. He was given a copy of the original document that was framed and hung in a special place in his home for all to see.

During his final years with Grumman he was assigned responsibility to oversee Grumman’s compliance with the 1980 OSHA law that was passed by the 91st Congress to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for all workers.

Following retirement from Grumman in 1984 he served as Chairman of the Board for 10 years and as a trustee for three years at Bay Shore United Methodist Church. His other most significant contribution during retirement was to serve as a founder with his wife, Kay, of the first YMCA Chapter in Bay Shore, N.Y.

Mac and Kay headed for warmer winters in 2001 and moved to Cullman to be near their oldest daughter, her husband and four of their grandchildren. They then joined St. Andrews’ United Methodist Church and were active members until decreased mobility limited their activities. Mac leaves behind his wife, Kay, three daughters, and seven grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Bertha McCown; his son-in-law, Alvin Lewitas; a brother, Cloyde McCown; and a sister, Martha Robins.

Survivors include his wife, Kathryn McCown; three daughters, Bonnie Barnes, Wendy McCown and Holly Lewitas; two sons-in-law, Dr. Thomas Barnes DDS, and Randall Berndt; and seven grandchildren, Cindy Barnes Hayden, Laura Barnes Lewis, Nathan Barnes, Sarah Barnes, Julian McCown-Berndt, David Lewitas and Alison Lewitas.

Visitation was from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday.