July 5, 1915 (San Jose, Costa Rica) – June 8, 1970 (Westport, CT); 54 years old
Married to Mary McGowan Montes de Oca (1919-1970).
One son, Michael (1953-?), and three daughters Patricia (1950-?), Christine (1952-?), and Rita (1959-?).
Last local address: 370 West Avenue, Norwalk (YMCA)
Enlisted July 3, 1942; Discharged May 19, 1945
Serial number 31142824
Unit: 322nd Bomb Group (H), 449th Bomb Squadron
Arrived in the United States on April 16, 1928. Became U.S. citizen after the war ended on July 19, 1945.
Received the Purple Heart Medal and 13 Air Medals.
From The Norwalk Hour December 4, 1944
EX-Y CLERK HAS NARROW ESCAPE
T-Sgt Montes DeOca’s Plan Shot Down; Parachutes to Safety; Veteran Of 69 Missions
Atlantic City, N.J. – T-Sgt Edward Montes de Oca, Norwalk, B-26 gunner, ran into a wall of flak that he could have hung his “pin-up gals” on. “It was a week after D-Day,” the airman recalled, “and we were coming back from a low-level bombing of enemy positions in Normandy. About 10 miles from our lines, the Jerries spotted us and threw up a flak barrage that you couldn’t see through. A burst right on our left engine knocked it completely out, and another explosion shattered the pilot’s instrument panel and killed our controls. The plane vibrated crazily and started to fall apart when the order was given to jump. Floating down, I realized that my head had been wounded, and I started feeling faint. Landing on a French farm, I managed to regain consciousness long enough to get to the farmhouse and explain that I was an American. Then I guess I just dozed off. When I woke, I was lying on a couch in the farmhouse with my head bandaged and the farmer sitting beside me with a glass of cognac in his hand that he wanted me to drink… and did. Then after I had eaten, a group of British soldiers passing through that area stopped at the farmhouse for some refreshments and they took me with them back to their camp. There I was given first aid, and then flown back to England.” Sergeant Montes de Oca is now awaiting reassignment at the Army Air Force Redistribution Station No. 1 in Atlantic City. Before he leaves this station, the sergeant will be examined by doctors and interviewed by personnel specialists to determine where he will best fit into the Army Air Force setup. A veteran of 69 combat missions, he wears the Air Medal with 12 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart Medal. Prior to his entry into the service, Montes de Oca, whose home is at 370 West Avenue, was a clerk at the Norwalk YMCA.
Buried in Assumption Cemetery, Greens Farms Road, Westport, Connecticut. Plot number is unknown. Photo from FindAGrave.com.
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