WWII Veteran Domineck Monell

Domineck Monell volunteered for service in WWII and entered the Air Force. His  military  service  included a visit to Fort Myers where he fell in love with Florida. He served  as  a  mechanic working on P-51’s. When the war ended he went home to  Fairmont,  VA  got his wife and they settled in Jacksonville, Florida where Domineck worked at the Naval Air Station for 30 years as a mechanic and shop manager.

Domineck  Monell is one of the eight  Monell brothers  from  Fairmont,  West Virginia  ready to serve their country in WWII. Six of the Monell brothers were drafted and two received their notice. One brother, Tony, the first to ship out in the Invasion of 1944 was killed in battle. Frank Monell,  rescued 56 men at the Battle of the Bulge, was shot three times, and survived POW camp. He lives now in a V.A. nursing home.

Orlando resident and WWII  Veteran  Michael  Monell says, “My family was very proud of what we did.”

Listen to this excerpt on Domineck Monell from his  brother  Michael Monell’s oral history interview at Saint James Cathedral in downtown Orlando, November 9, 2011.

LISTEN (2:24)

ABOVE: Eight brothers from one family all ready to serve their country during World War II.

As Michael Monell shares his brother Tony was in the first group out for the Invasion of 1944 and was killed in battle.

His brother, Frank, served in the Battle of the Bulge and saved 56 men despite being shot three times. He was awarded three Purple Hearts and the Silver Star. He weighed 97 lbs. when the Russians rescued him from the POW camp and was still bleeding, but made it home to the United States where he lives now in a VA nursing home.

Brother Cosmo, became so well known in the service for cutting the GI’s hair that General Patton recruited him as his personal barber. After the war he would become famous in our area as “Tony the Barber” with a shop on Main Street in Kissimmee.

Domineck, joined the Air Force and worked on P-51s during the war. He then settled in Jacksonville where he worked at the Naval Air Station for 30 years.

From the day his father arrived in this country at age 21 looking for work which led him to the coal mines of West Virginia, the Monell family has cherished the values of hard work and service to God and country.

WWII Veteran Michael Monell still serves his community as an usher at St. James Cathedral in downtown Orlando and has served for years as Commander of the local American Veterans post leading groups to volunteer at VA clinics in our area.

Regarding his parents life in America, Mike says he is, “Very grateful that they came here. I love America. So do all my brothers and my family.”

SEARCH OrlandoMemory.info using the surname “Monell” for more memories of the Monell family.