Hats Off! to
The Panola Watchman for this information.
Billie McKee, World War II
Veteran
(Taken from an article published in The Panola Watchman, December
17, 1999.)
(Editor's Note: In observance of Veteran's Day, beginning with this issue and throughout the month, The Panola Watchman will feature more than 20 local ladies who served their country in the armed forces during World War II. The Panola County Historical and Genealogical Association, led by Leila B. LaGrone, compiled information on the military contributions of the Panola County women. In addition to this tribute to the ladies, a file will be set up in the County Museum giving a more complete report to their services to the United States.)
Billy Ryser was a student at Wichita State University in Kansas when war clouds became ominous and men were being called into military service. Her interest in aircraft led her into Civil Aeronautics Administration sponsored course at the university where she became a proficient pilot in the summer of 1941.
When Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese, American universities increased preparatory courses for aiding the war effort. A call came to her university for 60 men and two women to apply for special civilian pilot training. She applied, was accepted, and went through rigid tests beginning with the Army/Navy physical fitness exam. Earning her wings, as one of two women in a 62-member group under th4 direction of George Harte, she faced thorough screening against infiltrator spies that became a real danger.
The recently graduated pilots were made instructors and were sent to various training centers. Billie was sent to the one at Cuero, where she became an active pilot trainer. The training included depth understanding of emergency possibilities for a war pilot. This was the early age of air warfare and pilot instructors were trained in emergency engine repair, navigation, and meteorology. Pilot training today is entirely different from that of the 1940s.
After the war ended, she and Marlon McKee were married at Henderson in 1946. The McKees moved to Carthage and he soon became vice-president of Carthage First National Bank. They had two daughters, Kathleen and Karen, and all went well for the family until Marlon died from heart attack in 1957.
Bille reared the daughters and saw that they received fine educations. She was employed as secretary by the Carthage School System for 10 years, and then joined the staff at Panola College where she worked until retirement. Al the time she was very active in First Methodist Church and Panola Chamber of Commerce.
At the date, near the end of the 20th Century, Bill Ryser McKee is still an active woman in Carthage. She is an honored member of Beta Sigma Phi. Her girls have grown up and have families of their own. Billie is found on Sunday morning doing a chosen duty at her church, making and serving coffee for the Loyal Sons Sunday School Class.
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03/21/05