Retired SMSgt served in two wars, met General Patton

  • Published
  • By Stephen Delgado
  • Thunderbolt staff writer
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  In 1940 a teenager from Houghton, Mich., enlisted in the Army, and in 1967 he retired from the Air Force. The 27 years of service in military was an incredible ride for him. It took him to many places and offered him a lifetime of memorable experiences, including having an unforeseen meeting with one of the most famous generals of all time.

Meet Willard "Sully" Sullivan, whose career spanned three wars and five commanders-in-chief from President Franklin Roosevelt to President Lyndon Johnson. He served in two of those wars, World War II and the Vietnam War. Mr. Sullivan enlisted as a buck private in the Signal Corps and ended his career as a senior master sergeant with the Air Force, retiring as an airplane mechanic and line chief.

"My career took me to many places including North Africa, Europe, Alaska and many locations in the continental United States. I had the opportunity to work on a variety of aircraft, including P-38s, B-24s, C-130s, B-52s, F-101s, F-100s and U-2s," he recalled. "I even had the chance to work on British Spitfires."

One of Sullivan's duty stations shortly after World War II was Luke Air Force Base, where he spent a year. He said the one memory that stands out in his days at Luke is when the base was shut down for three days and no one could leave.

What's more, he had tours at Selfridge AFB, Mich.; Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; Holloman AFB, N.M.; and Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., which was his last assignment. Sullivan had a temporary duty assignment at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam, which marked participation in his second war.

"We were flying photo missions over China with drones that were attached to C-130s," he said. "It was a three-month assignment."

Sullivan's long career was highlighted by a surprise event in 1943.

"I was near Tripoli, Libya, at an airfield working on P-38s and British Spitfires, when Gen. George Patton's Piper Cub airplane landed there," he recalled. "I went to the general's aircraft and informed him that we were on alert, and he couldn't park his airplane there because he was blocking the line of takeoff for the alert aircraft. Patton informed me that he would park his plane wherever he wanted too. He was there for a meeting. On his way back to his aircraft, he thanked me for taking care of it. I still look back at that incident and marvel. What a way to meet one of the greatest generals of all time."

Oct. 3 was a special day for Sullivan. It marked his 90th birthday, and he was honored with a pinning ceremony performed by fellow Vietnam veteran, Tom Fenner, Hospice of the Valley community and military liaison.

The pinning ceremony is part of Hospice of the Valley's Salutes Program. The ceremony marks special recognition of a veteran with a lapel pin by a fellow veteran. It is an opportunity not only for the pinning, but to honor a veteran with his family there to share it, Fenner said.

Sullivan's daughter, Bonnie Cope, shared how she feels about her father.

"I love him so much," she said. "I have had the opportunity to really know him during the past few years. He has lived here for nearly three years, and it's given me the chance to spend a lot of time with him and learn a lot about him. I didn't get to spend much time with him in the military because he was gone a lot, so the past few years have been great."

Sullivan still smiles and loves to share stories with friends and family. Besides being part of two wars, he has had to cope with multiple health problems.

Cope said that despite her father's health problems, he is doing well for all he has been through.