Born in 1918 in Clifton Forge, VA to Reginald Clyde and Florence Opal (Baker) Moneymaker, he grew up in rural Virginia with two siblings, John and Rosemary, on the Cow Pasture River. Sounds idyllic and it was. After high school he joined the Navy in 1937 and was assigned to the Electrical Division on the Light Cruiser U.S.S. Boise. The family wants to thank all the men and women who serve and have served in the military because we know the sacrifice that is made.
Mon’s world changed in 1941, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. At the end of his four-year tour of duty, he was re-enlisted for another four, very trying years of WWII. He was in charge of the searchlights in the Battle of Guadalcanal and later in the invasion of Sicily and Italy. The diary he kept at that time is now part of the Library of Congress. During the last year and a half of the war Mon had several stateside postings. The last was with the Scouts and Raiders, forerunners of the Navy SEALS, where he learned guerilla warfare tactics and rudimentary Mandarin Chinese. His children still remember him saying “ni hao” (hello) with just the right intonation, his blue eyes twinkling.
We honor you, Garnett Moneymaker.
