New book celebrates Cape native Gen. McKee's life

Capturing the essence of Gen. Seth McKee of the U.S. Air Corps, Jerry Ford and Dr. Frank Nickell tell the story of the Cape Girardeau native in their newly released book, “Seth: The Life and Journey of General Seth Jefferson McKee.”

McKee, who died Dec. 26, 2016 at the age of 100, was a 1934 Central High School graduate and attended Southeast Missouri State university from 1934 to 1937. McKee was a highly decorated military leader, a four-star general described as “one of the fathers” of the U.S. Air Force.

Proceeds from Ford and Nickell’s book are designated for the General and Mrs. Seth J. McKee, USAF (Ret.) Scholarship at Southeast Missouri State University. The scholarship has been established to support students attending Southeast who have served or are currently serving in the United States military.

As with McKee, the book’s authors are connected to the university. Ford is a Southeast alumnus, Distinguished Service Award recipient and local musician. Nickell, who is a highly regarded historian, is an associate professor emeritus of history at Southeast.

“The older generations understand what D-Day was and the implications, but young people today, a lot of them, can’t relate or remember Vietnam, let alone World War II,” Ford told the Southeast Missourian in a June 2019 interview.

The book takes readers from McKee’s youth in Southeast Missouri to graduating from U.S. Air Corps flight training at age 22 and his rise through the ranks from test pilot to senior squadron commander during World War II and to becoming a four-star general. The authors met with McKee several times while researching the book.

According to previous reporting, Ford said the book was not only to elevate Gen. McKee’s role in World War II “but to talk about and get a sense of what military life was like in those days.”

Although the book is a biography of McKee, it is also autobiographical according to the authors. They were able to record McKee’s memories of his childhood and use his first-hand descriptions of historical wartime events.

McKee participated in the testing of “virtually all aircraft” produced for the Air Corps. McKee also flew the British Spitfire Squadron at Elgin Field, Florida, before becoming Operations Officer of the Elgin Field Test Group when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.

McKee served as senior squadron commander with additional duty as deputy group commander of one of these Fighter Groups — the 370th — assigned to the Ninth Air Force and proceeded to England in early Jan. 1944.

McKee named his P-38 fighter “My Gal Sal” to honor his wife, Sally, Ford said.

Readers will learn the history and development of the Army Air Corps and the modern U.S. Air Force during McKee’s 37 years of military service.

At the time of his death, he was the highest-ranking survivor of the D-Day invasion of France during World War II. France awarded him the rank of Chevalier (Knight) in the National Order of the Legion of Honor, that nation’s highest honor. He also earned many other military honors and awards.

Ford talked about the book in 2019 and said he started the project because “it’s just a fascinating story from Cape Girardeau.” Through Nickell and Ford’s research, McKee was believed to be the only four-star general to not already have a book written about him.

McKee’s likeness was added to the Missouri Wall of Fame at Cape Girardeau’s riverfront in 2017. He served under six presidents, beginning with Franklin Roosevelt and ending with Richard Nixon.

The book may be purchased for $25 through the Southeast Missouri University Foundation, One University Plaza, MS 7300, Cape Girardeau, Missouri 63701 or online at semo.edu/mckeebook.