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Gen. G. W. Mundy

After retirement, General Mundy and his wife, Suzanne settled for a few years in Arlington, Virginia, where they owned a home. In 1974, they moved to San Antonio. 

Tragically, Mrs. Mundy died unexpectedly in 1987, George Mundy was devastated by the loss of his wife - a bereavement that he continues to bear. It had been a happy, enduring and fulfilling marriage for 53 years. 

Shortly after the death of Suzanne, the General took up residency in an Army Retirement Complex in San Antonio, not far from his former neighborhood. Though restricted by health problems, he continues to remain fairly active at his life-long pastime- golf. Numbering very high on the list of his friends was his all-black cat - "Putty Tat," a loyal and 1oving companion and living remembrance of Suzanne.

Unfortunately, "Putty Tat" died suddenly in the autumn of 1991. Since then, he has acquired another furry companion to share his life with.

During General Mundy's 39 years of military service, he had many happy memories.
A few of these stories are recalled below:

"I was Commanding Officer of Eglin AFB before the start of World War II. Many unhappy American boys had been drafted, When, on leave some - had used bad manners and even force while hitch-hiking. The press played it up big and this made the service look bad. So orders came down from higher echelon directing that word go out ordering the men that there would be no more hitch-hiking in uniform. This order was published in a Daily Bulletin which ended 'By order of the Commanding Officer, Major George W. Mundy. 

One weekend I had occasion to drive to Montgomery in my private auto. On the way back, I noticed an airman in uniform thumbing a ride. I stopped and picked him up. As we started off. I couldn't resist saying, 'Soldier, don't you know it's against regulations to hitch-hike in uniform?' He blew my hair back with his reply, 'yeah, but I don't care as long as that S.O.B. Major Mundy doesn't find out about it. I let it pass for a moment, then said, 'I am Major Mundy. He obviously didn't believe me and said, 'Why do all you non-coms try to pass yourselves off as officers?' I pulled off to the side of the road and showed him my I.D. He responded as if I had hit him in the face with my fist. Then, we both broke out into spasms of laughter for the next five minutes. When we drove off again, I said. 'Soldier, we'll just forget about this incident: neither of us will say a word about it.' When we arrived at Eglin, I let him out and that was the last I ever saw or heard of him." (Talk about putting your foot in your mouth). 

"As Commander of Eglin at the time of Pearl Harbor, Jimmy Doolittle, one day soon after the start of the war, came into my office. He told me he had very hush-hush orders, which for security reasons had never been put into writing. He went on to say he would need the use of many of our facilities, including an emergency airstrip. I asked him how he would be using this particular runway. He could only tell me that they would be making an outline of an aircraft carrier on it. Though I could only guess as to its purpose, the request seemed legitimate, and I indicated to him that I would not insist on written orders but would take him at his word. At this stage of the war Uncle Sam insisted on strict accountability of all government property and money, particularly on those bases located in the United States. 

Doolittle's men and their B-25's trained persistently at Eglin for the following 3 to 4 weeks and we cooperated with them in every way that we could. Then one day they took off and I didn't hear of them again until glaring headlines startled the country by proclaiming "DOOLITTLE BOMBS TOKYO FROM SHANGRI-LA" Not only were the facts reveled, but at least I could settle the property and money accounts that had been so long on hold.

Mundy [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ]

Source: "History of the 39th Bomb Group" by Robert Laird (Crew 5) and David Smith (crew 31)