Local smokejumper honored posthumously for ultimate sacrifice
Summer Goddard
Participants in an Aug. 10 memorial tribute for Phillip McVey, who lost his life fighting the Mann Gulch in 1949, pose for a photo.
Summer Goddard
A National Smokejumper Association Memorial Tribute Medallion was added to Phillip McVey’s grave marker at the Ronan Cemetery.
Summer Goddard
NSA member Ron Normandeau gives a brief history of the Mann Gulch tragedy during the Aug. 10 service.
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RONAN — A memorial service for Phillip Rolla McVey, a smokejumper who died fighting a wildfire in 1949, was held at the Ronan Cemetery last Saturday.
Similar graveside events were held across the country last week on the 75th anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire that claimed the lives of 13 smokejumpers.
Organized by The National Smokejumper Association, events included a brief history of the Mann Gulch tragedy, a review of the smokejumper’s life and recognition of their sacrifice with the addition of an NSA memorial medallion to their grave marker.
On Aug. 5, 1949, 15 smokejumpers parachuted onto a hilltop above the Mann Gulch forest fire east of Helena, joining a single ground attack firefighter. The crew of 16 were hiking down a steep canyon when fire suddenly exploded beneath them. Only three men survived.
McVey, who was only 22 when he died, was remembered as a hardworking, adventurous young with a good sense of humor. A boyhood friend recalled that he and McVey once rode 400 miles on bicycles as teenagers to visit the friend’s brother. Preferring to be called “Flip,” McVey also organized a carnival with friends at the age of 14 to make money to buy 4th of July fireworks. He joined the Navy as an airman just before graduating high school and later joined the smokejumpers with several buddies in order to make money for college.
Phillip is buried in the Ronan Cemetery next to parents Clarence and Lillian. Several relatives from Missoula, including a great niece, attended the Aug. 10 graveside service.
Comments from participants, a prayer, color guard tribute, moment of silence, expression of thanks and group photo rounded out the Aug. 10 tribute.
Retired local smokejumpers Larry Ashcraft, Ron Normandeau and Nels Jensen of The National Smokejumpers Association helped organize the Ronan service. Afterward, Ashcraft recalled sharing a room in a Helena hospital with a Mann Gulch firefighter. Ashcraft was 7 at the time and had been in the hospital for a hernia surgery. He said he’d been the only occupant in his room before surgery but had a roommate upon waking. He remembers the man, who had severe burns, jokingly lamenting the loss of his boots in a phone conversation with his wife. The smokejumper, Bill Hellman, later succumbed to his injuries. Ashcraft shared the story with a relative of Hellman who also attended the Aug. 10 tribute for Phillip McVey.
