He s been a survivor long before this pandemic. In the Pacific, I was a mechanic on the B-17, said Bonelli, who piloted the WWII bomber on more than 30 missions through Nazi Germany and Italy. He survived Pearl Harbor.
This year, he s been battling a new enemy: cancer. I m probably more surprised than anyone else that I m still here and talking, he said.
His family wasn t sure he d see his next birthday, so they threw him an early party last fall, attracting first responders from all over Montgomery County to pay their respects.
At 99 years and 353 days, he has only one more thing he wants to accomplish.