Tampa Bay's oldest living WWII veteran has died at 108: ‘It’s the greatest generation’

Local WWII veteran Bill Monfort has died at 108

FOX 13’s Lloyd Sowers reports on Bill Monfort, who was believed to be the oldest living World War II veteran in the Bay Area, passing away at 108.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - When FOX 13 celebrated Bill Monfort's 108th birthday a few months ago, he talked about his cake and car.

He was born in 1916 and learned to drive in a Model T Ford, but he wanted to go farther and see the world.

Pictured: Bill Monfort.

Monfort enlisted in the Navy in 1935. On December 7, 1941, he was the Chief Radio Operator on the destroyer Claxton on maneuvers outside Pearl Harbor when he heard the call.

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"It said we've been attacked by Japan. This is not a drill. Return to base," Monfort said.

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Monfort passed away Monday at The Landmark, an assisted living facility in Clearwater.

Bill Monfort in the Navy.

He was believed to be the oldest living veteran in our area when he passed. His friend Mark Welsh started documenting his history last year.

Welsh remembered Monfort’s account of returning to Pearl Harbor aboard the Claxton.

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"It was beyond comprehension or description, to see the bodies still in the water. I'm not trying to get grisly, but it was just a fact," says Welsh.

Monfort was one of over 116 million American men and women who served during the war.

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"In 1942 and 1943, there was no assurance that we were going to prevail, so these men and women put their lives on the line to save the world," said Welsh.

Before his passing Monday, Monfort was one of fewer than 65,000 who remained of the 116 million who served.

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Those who did so much are leaving us so quickly.

"It's not the greatest military generation," Welsh said. "It’s the greatest generation."

Monfort served 10 years in the Navy, seeing everything from Pearl Harbor to the Japanese surrender and everything in between. He often wore a World War II Veteran commemorative cap emblazoned with the word Kamikaze.

"And somebody said, ‘Did they have kamikaze at Pearl Harbor?’ No, that was when he was at Iwo and Okinawa," said Welsh. "When I say he experienced everything in the Pacific, he did."

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Monfort told FOX 13 the story in an interview several years ago, but it could still make a person shiver. He didn’t just tell war stories; Monfort was a war story.

After serving in the Navy, Monfort served as an Air Traffic Control Specialist with the FAA for nearly 30 years. His oral history is enshrined in the Library of Congress.

The Source: FOX 13's Lloyd Sowers collected the information in this story.

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