The address that Gen. Douglas MacArthur delivered to a joint meeting of Congress on April 19, 1951, lives as one of the history of great farewell speeches in history.

"When I joined the Army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all of my boyish hopes and dreams," MacArthur said."The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on the plain at West Point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished, but I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular (British) barrack ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that 'old soldiers never die, they just fade away.'"And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Goodbye."Last week we learned of the passing of another old soldier in New Hampshire. John E. Mont, 92, was born on St. Patrick's Day in 1922.After graduating high school, he joined the military, an ambition for teenage boys eager to fight to defend our freedoms during WW II.A member of the Army Air Forces in 1943, he became the ball turret gunner on the B17 heavy bomber "My Day." On his sixth mission, his plane was shot down over the English Channel. John Pilato from Rochester, New York my sister-in-law's uncle was the ship's radio man who got off an SOS before the plane went down.He and six others perished in the channel but four crew members, including Mont, floated in the freezing water for three hours before being rescued by the British Air Sea Rescue.Four months later on his 11th mission, Mont was the engineer on "Wing Fury" that was shot down over Germany. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war for 13 months before his stalag was evacuated.The prisoners began an 18-day, 241-mile march to Branuau, Austria. On the march to freedom the Austrian people shared what little bread they had with the POWs.Mont was liberated on May 3, 1945, and was awarded The Oak Leaf Air Medal and European Theatre Medal with one Bronze Star, British Gold Fish Club, The American Sea Squatters Club and The Caterpillar Club.On Mont's 50th Wedding Anniversary, he and wife Elizabeth traveled back to England, Germany and Austria, and John had the chance to thank the British and Austrian people who helped him survive the war.Mont worked as a technician for a hosiery company after the war. He enjoyed photography, woodworking, watching and feeding the birds, and going to yard sales with his wife and two daughters who he affectionately referred to as "my girls."From "My Day" to "my girls," John Mont experienced a long, fulfilling life. This kind of story seems to be a common thread among that aging group of Americans known as our Greatest Generation.By JIM ZBICKtneditor@tnonline.com