John Gill McCall was born on March 21, 1923. He joined the U.S. Army in Pittsburgh, PA on October 31, 1942 where he had been a Mechanical Engineering student at Pennsylvania State University.

He volunteered for parachutist duty and was sent to Camp Blanding, FL where the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment was formed. Following completion of a rigorous basic training schedule the regiment moved to Fort Benning, GA for jump school and then moved on to Camp Mackall, NC for advanced training.

On December 28, 1943 the regiment shipped out for Europe on the USAT James T. Parker and spent the next six months preparing for its role in the liberation of Europe.

Pvt McCall was with the regiment throughout all of this training. He jumped with them into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944 and then into Holland as part of Operation Market-Garden on September 17 of that same year. Then on December 18, 1944 the regiment was once again pressed into action for the Battle of The Bulge. John survived all of this combat although he was twice wounded. He was awarded the Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster as well as the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).

Following his separation from the service on November 7, 1945, John resumed his studies, this time at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.

It wasn't all textbooks though, as in 1948 he became one of the few to have ascended Mt. McKinley, that at 20,320 feet, is the highest mountain in North America. He graduated with a degree in Engineering in 1950.

Then in 1953 he earned a PhD. in Glaciology from Cambridge University, England and returned to Alaska.

In May 1954 he was one of a small team of volunteers that ascended to the 11,000 foot level of Mt. McKinley to rescue an injured climber. No helicopters were available at the time which could reach that altitude so the team had to hike into the area. George Argus spent a week alone in a tent before the rescuers reached him. Even today, the feat is been described as the most daring rescue on Mt. McKinley.

Incredibly, seven months later John was stricken with poliomyelitis and succumbed in just a week and died on November 5, 1954. He is now buried in Birch Hill Cemetery, Fairbanks, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USA.

Source of information: findagrave.com