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WWII vet relives old times

Hometown News: New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater - Oak Hill - 4/21/2017

At age 100, World War II Navy veteran Bill Monfort recently relived part of his event-filled past by flying in an open cockpit 1942 WWII biplane trainer flown by his son, New Smyrna Beach Airport tower operator and certified pilot Bill Monfort II.

Grandson Brad Monfort, 19, made it a three-generation flight by sharing the forward cockpit seat with his visiting Tampa-resident grandfather, while his air controller dad piloted from the rear seat of the vintage WACO (Weaver Aircraft Co. of Troy, Ohio) UPF-7 military trainer biplane.

Ground support was provided by Michael Smyser, owner and operator of BiPlane FunFlights, a vintage aircraft flight business based at the airport and sponsor of the nostalgic event. The company conducts daily air tours in WWII aircraft along the New Smyrna Beach coastline for residents and tourists.

"We must never forget what the WW II vets did for our country," said Mr. Smyser, a long-time veterans' advocate, "Flying these old military aircraft is a unique and special skill set ? not your typical general aviation aircraft. We hope the flight in this military trainer biplane was enjoyed and rekindled memories of Mr. Monfort's military service to this country during an extremely dangerous period in our country's history."

Born Dec. 17, 1916, in Marion County, Ga., the centenarian's love of aviation began at age 16 when he first climbed into the cockpit of an airplane and began taking flight training at a local airport. Three years later, in 1935, and still a teenager, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he served until 1946 on 10 different ships and on three when they were first commissioned.

World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier, according to historians.

"Bill was based at Pearl Harbor but was at sea when the Japanese attacked the base on Dec. 7, 1941," Mr. Smyser said. "He was the Radio Officer on the USS Mahan, a destroyer on patrol during the attack, when he received an emergency communication via Morse code transmission. He was the first on the ship to know of the attack."

In the Pacific War in 1944, at age 27, and a crewman on the USS Claxton, Mr. Monfort survived a kamikaze airplane attack, which had blown a hole 30 feet long and 10 feet wide in the hull, nearly sinking the ship. To avoid going down, the crew used mattresses to plug the hole so the bilge could keep the vessel afloat, the veteran later recalled.

Lori Kovalsky, who interviewed the veteran for a Tampa event honoring him on his 100th birthday, said Mr. Monfort easily remembered the details of his past and war experiences.

"He provided information without hesitation, recalling all the dates and places," she said, "He can still tell WWII stories like it just happened."

After leaving the Navy as a decorated Chief Petty Officer, Mr. Monfort used the GI Bill to further his education in radio, television, and electronics. He later served 27 years as a Federal Aviation Agency air traffic controller, retiring in 1982.

The thrill of flying was rekindled April 9 at the New Smyrna Beach Airport when the WWII veteran, his son, and grandson went flying in a WWII aircraft similar to those used to train Navy pilots who fought the world war and defended the country from the air. Mr. Monfort and his shipmates provided pilots vital support from Navy ships sailing below.

Following the nostalgic flight, the pilot son quipped to his father, "You did great, Dad," with the first generation Monfort crisply responding, "You didn't do so bad yourself."

"It was a grinning comment from one pilot to another, which implied his son's piloting skills were impressive," recalled Mr. Smyser.

In the 1960s, living on Florida's west coast, the senior Monfort and his wife, Bessie, unable to find suitable residential care and training for their developmentally disabled daughter, became advocates for the developmentally disabled. They were among the parents, and other concerned individuals, who founded Angels Unaware, which was incorporated in 1973 as a nonprofit charitable group dedicated to providing quality professional residential care facilities and services for the severe and profound developmentally disabled.

There were 16,112,566 members of the U.S. Armed Forces serving during WWII. There were 291,557 battle deaths, 113,842 other deaths in service (non-theater), and 670,846 non-mortal woundings. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, around 620,000 American veterans from the war are estimated to still be alive as of December 2016.

As of March 2017, Richard Overton, age 110, of San Antonio, Texas, was the oldest living U.S. veteran. He served in the Pacific theater during WWII with an engineer aviation battalion.