World War II flyer from Marion awarded Congressional Gold Medal

MARION - It was 73 years in the making, but Marion resident June Minton was finally honored for her role in defending America during World War II.

The ceremony to award Minton a Congressional Gold Medal took place Saturday afternoon at Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois. Around 70 guests and local dignitaries attended the event despite a driving thunderstorm that passed through just moments before the ceremony began.

Not old enough to serve in the military during WWII, then 16-year-old Minton worked after school and weekends at Cairo's Thistlewood Dairy. She said her bookkeeping duties regularly took her to the Cairo airport. "That's where I became hooked on flying," said Smith with a smile.

Just six days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor drew America into the global conflict, the Civil Air Patrol was founded. From March 1942 to August 1943, its members flew some 24 million miles, in privately-owned or borrowed planes, patrolling the Atlantic and Gulf coasts to ward off German U-boat attacks against U.S. shipping, especially domestic oil tankers bound for Europe to help fuel military machines.

The CAP coastal patrols, flying out of 21 bases located along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Maine to the southern tip of Texas, spotted 173 U-boats and attacked 57. They also escorted more than 5,600 convoys and reported 17 floating mines, 36 bodies, 91 ships in distress and 363 survivors in the water.

On Oct. 1, 1942, the CAP began a cadet program for boys and girls aged 15-17. One of the program's primary missions was to train high school juniors and seniors to fly - potentially becoming future military aviation cadets. Minton joined CAP on Sept. 9, 1944.

"I learned to fly in an Aeronca airplane, single-engine, two-seat (front and back, not side by side), high wing, stick shift," recalls the 89-year-old former cadet.

When Minton first began flying, her plane had only a compass and an altimeter.

"When I did my cross country, I had a regular road map with me," she said.

Minton's record of service is no surprise to Mendy Karnes of the Williamson County States Attorney's office.

"Miss June has been volunteering with us since 1998," she said.

Karnes said that former States Attorney Chuck Garnati began the volunteer program, originally starting with about 6-10 senior volunteers.

"She started out doing one day a week," said Karnes. "Now, she does a couple of days a week and even has her own desk."

Karnes said Minton began helping with bad check collections and now gets on the computer to help with the arrest sheets that go in to the state.

"We just love her here," said Karnes, noting that Minton also volunteers at the local hospital.

Minton, a quiet woman who, according to Karnes and others who know her, "never brags about herself or her accomplishments," was visibly overwhelmed during the ceremony.

The Senate passed legislation authorizing the Congressional Gold Medal in May 2013, with the House following suit a year later. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law May 30, 2014.

"I didn't realize that something that seems so small to me is such a big thing," Minton said.

Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton) told the audience that the contributions of Minton and others like her were instrumental in America's safety during the war.

"The Civil Air Patrol filled in to protect our borders," he said. "This young lady was part of that effort that kept America's borders safe."

Guinevere Lipe, a Cadet Senior Airman in the CAP, was one of several CAP members in attendance.

"Women didn't have opportunities like that back then," she said.

Minton continued flying throughout much of her life after receiving her pilot's license on July 19, 1951. She now lives a quieter life in Marion with fond memories of her days in the sky.

However, given the chance, Minton said she would gladly do it again.

"It was just a wonderful thing to learn," she said. "I loved every minute of it. So thank you instead of thanking me."