WARREN PONTO

Name: WARREN PONTO

Entry Date: 43

Exit Date: 45

Rating:

Status: D: 11/29/1995

Back, L-R: Richard Bates, G.F. Kreitz, Warren Ponto, Bob Dunbar, Hattie Jamnik, Clayton Stokes, Yates. Front, L-R: Walter Martell, Henry Muters, Vincent Marimpietri, Carl Bartelt, J.C. White

“In 1922, Warren Ponto was born in Cudahy, Wisconsin, a blue-collar suburb of Milwaukee. His German immigrant grandfather was an early pioneer of the community who, in 1892, built the Ponto Hotel, a modest rooming house, tavern and restaurant that still stands near the center of town. Warren’s father was also an entrepreneur- for a time he was the proprietor and piano player of the Coliseum Electric Theatre, Cudahy’s first silent movie house. Warren grew up in a small flat with his two older sisters. The close-knit family was hard-hit by the depression and relied on income from additional roomers and a small bakery run by Warren’s mother. His high school interests included science and the performing arts. After graduation in 1940, he was employed for a time as a clerical worker. He continued singing and performing in community theater where he met his future wife, Marilyn, during a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘Iolanthe’. With dreams of becoming a pilot, he enlisted in the Navy in March 1943. His two years of training took him through a series of schools and bases, including Pensacola and Jacksonville, Florida and Hutchinson, Kansas. Thoroughly intimidated by his first flight in a Vultee trainer, he wrote home in December, 1943 that “there are so darn many instruments and gadgets that if the Navy offered me a job of driving a station wagon, I’d jump at the opportunity.” However, Warren persevered and eventually received certification to fly PBYs and PB4Ys. Warren and Marilyn wedded in March 1945, while he was assigned to VPB-197 at Camp Kearney in San Diego. His best man was bunkmate Marc Breaux, who was later to become a Broadway performer (Li’l Abner, Destry Rides Again) and a Hollywood choreographer (Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music). One can only imagine Warren and Marc’s late night songfests over a bottle of wine: “ Stick close to your desks and never go to sea, and you all may be rulers of the Queen’s Navee!”

As Bob Dunbar’s co-pilot, Warren helped ferry their B-24 and crew, first to VPB-200 at NAS Kanehoe, Hawaii and then to Palawan airfield in the Philippines (“Elevation: 37 feet at the Tower”), joining VPB-111 in May, 1945. Their primary plane was a Privateer nicknamed It’s a Pleasure (BuNo 59456), which featured a nose design based on original artwork by crewmember Airman/2c C. D. Stokes. The fuselage was adorned by the cocky caricature of Bugs Bunny leaning to one side, preparing to release a bomb from his outstretched hand. Other embellishments included a small pinup and the names of the co-pilots’ sweethearts, Hattie and Marilyn, painted below the canopy. The Shellbacks of Combat Air Crew #7 made numerous flights along the coasts of Borneo, Malaya and Indochina and saw their share of action. On July 19, 1945 they were hit by anti-aircraft fire, but managed to return safely. Lieutenant (jg) Ponto was eventually awarded four Air Medals for his participation in these patrols.

Peacetime meant rejoining Marilyn in Wisconsin and settling down to raise a family. Warren soon began a long career with Ma Bell, first as a telephone installer and eventually retiring as an engineer. He became a member of the volunteer aviation unit in Milwaukee (VAU 9-18) and also served for 14 years in the active reserve, where he was initially assigned to USNTC Great Lakes, Illinois. After more schooling and a promotion, he became a technical training officer for VP-722 (and, briefly, VP-721) based at NAS Glenview, Illinois. His 1956 annual cruise even took him to Port Lyautey, Morocco, where VPB-111 had been based before moving to the Pacific. Warren finally retired from the Navy in 1982, just a few days shy of a 40-year stint.

Though family and work kept him busy, Warren still found time to indulge his many interests, which included choral singing, stained-glass art, genealogy research, and cutthroat card-playing (sheepshead, and with Marilyn as a partner, bridge). It’s probably not surprising that someone who willingly shared his passions for taking pictures, gardening and opera raised three children who became, respectively, a photographer, a floral designer and a music professor. None, however, inherited his facility with a deck of cards.

Though Warren never expressed a desire to return to the skies, he was a frequent visitor to the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual Fly-In held at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. In later years, he eagerly anticipated the biennial reunions of his old VPB-111 crewmembers and contributed to the publication of his unit’s tale, The Story of One Eleven by Robert L. Wolpert.

Warren and Marilyn both lived to host a glorious celebration of their 50-year marriage for family and friends. Sadly, Warren died soon after and, within two years, was followed by his wife. Like many of his compatriots, Warren rarely discussed his wartime experiences, but was clearly proud of the service he had rendered to his country. Part of his legacy is the treasure trove of photos, letters and souvenirs from this period that he left behind. Poring over this inheritance has allowed his family, for perhaps the first time, to get a sense of the amazing experiences of a young man they had never truly known. ”