View source for Felix J. McCool

{{short description|USMC POW in WWII & Korea}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Felix James McCool
| image         = Felix J. McCool.jpeg
| birth_date    = June 14, 1912
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1972|12|27|1912|6|14}}
| birth_place   = [[Pawhuska, Oklahoma]], US
| death_place   = [[Dade City, Florida]], US
| placeofburial = Woodland Park Cemetery South, [[Miami, Florida]], US
| allegiance    = United States
| branch        = [[Oklahoma National Guard]]<br/>United States Marine Corps
| serviceyears  = 1934–1960
| rank          = [[Warrant officer (United States)|Chief Warrant Officer 3]]
| battles       = '''[[World War II]]'''
*[[Philippines campaign (1941–1942)]]
**[[Battle of Bataan]]
**[[Battle of Corregidor]]
'''[[Korean War]]'''
*[[Battle of Chosin Reservoir]]
| awards        = [[Purple Heart]] (2)<br/>[[Prisoner of War Medal]] (2)
}}
[[File:FelixJMcCool(spoken Wikipedia En).ogg|thumb|A spoken version of the article in English.]]
'''Felix James McCool''' (June 14, 1912 – December 27, 1972) was a [[United States Marine Corps]] [[Warrant officer (United States)|chief warrant officer 3]]. He is one of two Marines to be captured as a [[prisoner of war]] (POW) twice, the first during [[World War II]], and the second during the [[Korean War]]. Spending more than six years total in captivity, McCool held the record as the longest-held Marine POW until surpassed by several other Marines during the [[Vietnam War]].
== Early life and World War II ==
Felix J. McCool was born on June 14, 1912, in [[Pawhuska, Oklahoma]]. In 1934, he joined the [[Oklahoma National Guard]]. McCool enlisted into the Marine Corps as an [[Infantry|infantryman]] in 1938 and was assigned to the [[4th Marine Regiment]] in [[Shanghai|Shanghai, China]].<ref name=":0" /> In November 1941, the regiment was relocated to the [[Philippines]].<ref name=":1">{{cite web|title=Felix J. McCool|url=https://www.okhistory.org/historycenter/militaryhof/inductee.php?id=304|work=Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame}}</ref>
=== Battle of the Philippines ===
In December 1941, the United States was drawn into [[World War II]] when the Japanese [[Attack on Pearl Harbor|attacked Pearl Harbor]] and [[Philippines campaign (1941–1942)|invaded the Philippines]]. [[Sergeant (United States)|Sergeant]] McCool took part in the [[Battle of Bataan|fighting on Bataan]] before the regiment fell back to the island of [[Corregidor]]. On May 5, Japanese troops [[Battle of Corregidor|attacked Corregidor]] and captured the island the next day. Sergeant McCool was wounded during the battle and  subsequently captured, along with the rest of the 4th Marine Regiment.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{cite web|title=Felix J. McCool|url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/62118|work=Military Times}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite web|title=Appendix A: Marine POWs|url=https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/V/USMC-V-A.html|work=ibiblio}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{cite web|title=Felix J. McCool|url=https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=466&mtch=7&tf=F&q=mc+cool&bc=sl,fd&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=135426&rlst=92215,92212,92213,92214,135427,31794,135426|work=National Archives}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
=== First experience as POW ===
The prisoners were held on Corregidor for the next several weeks, where they were placed on a starvation diet. They also were required to bow to any Japanese soldier they crossed paths with, and would be beaten for various reasons, sometimes for no apparent reason at all. On May 24, the prisoners were loaded onto landing barges and transported to [[Manila]], where they were forced to march in a Japanese "[[Victory parade|Victory Parade]]" through the city.<ref name=":3" />
Sergeant McCool and his fellow prisoners were tightly packed into [[Stock car (rail)|cattle cars]] and shipped to various camps on the island. McCool's group arrived at a Japanese airfield where he performed forced labor. McCool worked several different jobs which enabled him to smuggle medical supplies in for sick prisoners. He did this despite routine beatings and the threat of being executed. McCool and some fellow prisoners also managed to [[sabotage]] the runway, causing a Japanese plane to crash.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{cite web|title=3 heroes who became POWs twice|url=https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/3-heroes-who-became-pows-twice|work=We Are The Mighty|date=5 February 2020}}</ref>
McCool and many of his fellow prisoners were loaded onto a [[hell ship]] and transported to the Japanese island of [[Kyushu]]. They were taken to the prisoner of war camp [[Fukuoka 17]], where they were forced to work in the [[Miike coal mine|Mitsui Miike coal mine]]. McCool continued engaging in sabotage for the next 13 months, before the war ended and he was liberated on August 29, 1945, after more than three years in captivity.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />
== Korean War ==
=== Battle of Chosin Reservoir ===
Upon returning to the United States, McCool decided to stay in the Marine Corps. By the start of the [[Korean War]] in 1950, McCool was promoted to [[Warrant officer (United States)|chief warrant officer]] and was assigned to the 1st Service Battalion, [[1st Marine Division (United States)|1st Marine Division]] as a supply officer. During the [[battle of Chosin Reservoir]], McCool was attached to Task Force Drysdale, a composite force of [[Royal Marines|British Royal Marines]], US Marines, [[United States Army|US Army soldiers]], and South Korean troops.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5">{{cite web|title=THE PROBLEMS OF U.S. MARINE CORPS PRISONERS OF WAR IN KOREA|url=http://www.koreanwar2.org/kwp2/usmckorea/reference/usmcpowkorea.pdf|work=History and Museums Division Headquarters, USMC}}</ref>
On November 29, 1950, the ill-fated task force fought its way through Chinese forces from Koto-ri to Hagaru-ri. Although the front of the convoy reached Hagaru-ri, the center was badly [[Ambush|ambushed]] and cut off. Fighting in subzero temperatures throughout the night, [[Major (United States)|Major]] [[John N. McLaughlin]] assumed command, and Chief Warrant Officer McCool and several other officers helped McLaughlin organize the remaining elements of the center of the convoy.<ref name=":5" />
After approximately 40 men had been killed and with very little [[ammunition]] remaining, McCool and 80 other survivors, half of whom were wounded, surrendered as prisoners of war in the early morning hours.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Also captured in that same convoy was [[Staff sergeant|Staff Sergeant]] [[Charles Lee Harrison|Charles L. Harrison]], who had also previously been held as a POW during World War II.<ref name=":5" />
=== Second experience as POW ===
McCool and the other prisoners marched north for several weeks, usually at night and during blizzards in order to avoid detection from [[United Nations|UN]] aircraft. Many of the prisoners suffered from [[frostbite]] and [[Malnutrition|malnourishment]], and they were also randomly interrogated at times during their journey. On December 26, McCool and other officers arrived at [[Kanggye]], near the Chinese border. Several of the POWs died during the march and shortly after arriving in Kanggye.<ref name=":5" />
The Chinese put McCool and the other POWs through a rigorous [[Communism|communist]] [[indoctrination]] program for eight weeks. In March, Warrant Officer McCool, Major McLaughlin, and several other Marine officers were moved to Camp 5, on a peninsula on the [[Yalu River]] in [[Pyoktong County|Pyoktong]]. The conditions in Camp 5 were brutal, and many prisoners died from starvation and lack of medical care. McCool was one of the last prisoners to receive the [[Sacrament of Penance]] from [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]] [[Emil Kapaun|Emil J. Kapaun]]. Kapaun, an [[Military chaplain|Army Chaplain]], died shortly after and was posthumously awarded the [[Medal of Honor]].<ref name=":5" />
In November 1951, McCool and the other officers were transferred 10 miles east to Camp 2 in Pi-chong-ni, where he would remain for the rest of the war. At one point during his captivity, McCool spit out a window and accidentally hit a guard. He was punished by being sentenced to [[solitary confinement]] in a hole three feet square by three and a half feet deep. Feces covered the floor of the hole, along with an abundant number of [[Louse|lice]] and [[Flea|fleas]], and spikes were put through the lid covering the hole, forcing McCool to sit in a hunched position.<ref name=":5" />
After 50 hours in confinement, McCool was taken to the camp headquarters where the Chinese demanded he confess to rape and pillaging. Refusing, he was sent back to the hole. McCool was offered words of encouragement from fellow prisoners 70 hours into his ordeal. McCool considered suicide, however, he ended up confessing that he cursed the North Koreans and hated the Chinese Communists. He refused to incriminate his fellow officers in crimes. After 80 hours, McCool was finally released from confinement and returned to the camp. Fellow prisoners gave McCool clean clothing and helped him wash himself.<ref name=":5" />
McCool was [[Repatriation|repatriated]] on September 5, 1953 during [[Operation Big Switch]], after nearly three more years of captivity. McCool later reflected on both of his POW experiences, stating that he hated the Chinese much more than he hated the Japanese. He believed that while the Japanese were just as brutal as the Chinese, the Japanese had character and the Chinese had none.<ref name=":5" />
== Later career and life ==
Chief Warrant Officer 3 McCool retired from the Marines in 1960. He and his wife moved to [[Florida]], where he attended the [[University of Miami]]. McCool later became a teacher at Killian High School in [[Miami]] and wrote a book about his experiences, ''Let's Face It: Memoirs, Speeches and Writings of a Career Marine and Two-Time Prisoner of War''.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Let's Face It: Memoirs, Speeches and Writings of a career Marine and two-time Prisoner of War by Felix J. McCool|url=https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lets-face-it-aileen-marckmann/1130524557|work=Barnes & Noble}}</ref>
Felix J. McCool died on December 27, 1972, in [[Dade City, Florida]]. In 2015, McCool was inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame.<ref name=":1" />
==Awards and decorations==
{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="4"|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=award-star|ribbon=Purple Heart ribbon.svg|width=110}} {{ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=United States Navy Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=AF Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon.png|width=110}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Prisoner_of_War_ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=service-star|ribbon=Selected_Marine_Corps_Reserve_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=China_Service_Medal_ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|other_device=|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean_Service_Medal_-_Ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Presidential_Unit_Citation_(Korea).svg|width=110}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Presidential_Unit_Citation_(Philippines).svg
|width=110}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Philippine Defense ribbon.png|width=110}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|ribbon=Republic of Korea War Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=110}}
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="6"| [[Purple Heart]]<br>w/ one [[5/16 inch star|{{frac|5|16}}" Gold Star]]
|colspan="6"| [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Navy Presidential Unit Citation]]<br>w/ two [[campaign star|{{frac|3|16}}" Bronze Stars]]
|-
|colspan="4"| [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Army Presidential Unit Citation]]
|colspan="4"| [[Prisoner of War Medal]]<br>w/ one {{frac|3|16}}" Bronze Star
|colspan="4"| [[Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal]]
|-
|colspan="4"| [[China Service Medal]]
|colspan="4"| [[American Defense Service Medal]]<br>w/ [[medal bar|Fleet Clasp]] ({{frac|3|16}}" Bronze Star)
|colspan="4"| [[American Campaign Medal]]
|-
|colspan="4"| [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]]<br>w/ one {{frac|3|16}}" Bronze Star
|colspan="4"| [[World War II Victory Medal]]
|colspan="4"| [[National Defense Service Medal]]
|-
|colspan="4"| [[Korean Service Medal]]<br>w/ three {{frac|3|16}}" Bronze Stars
|colspan="4"| [[Presidential Unit Citation (Korea)|Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation]]
|colspan="4"| [[Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation]]
|-
|colspan="4"| [[Philippine Defense Medal]]<br>w/ one {{frac|3|16}}" Bronze Star
|colspan="4"| [[United Nations Korea Medal]]
|colspan="4"| [[Korean War Service Medal|Republic of Korea War Service Medal]]
|-
|}
== See also ==
*[[John C. Giraudo]]
*[[Charles Lee Harrison]]
*[[Richard P. Keirn]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCool, Felix J.}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:1972 deaths]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War]]
[[Category:American prisoners of war in World War II]]
[[Category:American prisoners of war in the Korean War]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Oklahoma National Guard personnel]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps officers]]
[[Category:University of Miami alumni]]
[[Category:World War II prisoners of war held by Japan]]
[[Category:Korean War prisoners of war held by PRC]]