Tony DeBernardi

Diving beneath the fighter planes Tony DeBernardi quickly pulled up on the stick taking his position in the front before beginning evasive maneuvers. Looking at the tail of the P-51 Tony quickly realized that they were right behind him. Fortunately for him this was only part of his training. In a real battle he wouldn’t have lasted more than a few seconds. However, by the time that he completed his training he was a qualified fighter pilot 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.

Years earlier Tony and his family gathered around the radio in their home in Kelly Station. They were thirsty for any news on the war because of their concern that Japan would attack. Tony and his two younger brothers didn’t want to sit around and wait to see what happened. With their parents blessings they all enlisted in the services, Tony volunteering to serve in the Air Force.

Although Tony began his assignment as an Air Force Mechanic in the Caribbean, it wasn’t long before he set his sites in a new direction. As it turned out they needed a crew chief and it was suggested that he consider becoming a pilot. Tony jumped at the chance to further his military career and took the pilots exam. And then he waited and waited but nothing happened, he didn’t hear a thing. He asked a friend why he was never advised of the results and was told that the Sgt didn’t want to break up the basketball team. Tony wasn’t about to let this be the end of his dream so he went straight to his captain. It wasn’t long afterwards that he was finally on his way to Texas to begin his training as a pilot. He will never forget his arrival in Texas. “It was the first time that there was snow in Texas in twenty years and there was 2 inches of snow on the ground.”

From there he attended classes at Mississippi University before going on to primary training where he was instructed on how to parachute and how to survive in various conditions. The last segment of his training, and the most exciting, was his in-flight instruction from other seasoned pilots. He was sent to a base and trained by veterans who had flown and engaged in combat with the enemy while in flight. “They would take you up and show you techniques where you would go underneath the planes and come up in front. They showed us how to evade being hit. We climbed at 200 miles an hour and the Japanese planes couldn’t do it. That’s why our pilots became so great cause the veterans knew all the dog fighting tactics.” It was this strategy that kept pilots alive during fierce aeronautic battles with the enemy.

It became obvious early on that Tony stood out among his peers. During his training he displayed extraordinary night vision skills with the ability to properly identify enemy aircraft within 1/20th of a second. When tested he received the highest score out of thousands that had tested throughout the years. And because of this skill, Tony ended up receiving the most desired commission available to a pilot. He was picked to fly the P-61 Night Fighter, which was the most advanced plane at that time.

When his commission ended, Tony had served his country a total of 5 years. After being discharged he attended the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics and got his teachers license and an Aircraft & Engine technician license. He than came back to Leechburg airport and worked for 1 ½ years flight training and ground training for $3.50 an hour. This was the first of many jobs. Tony was known for his hard work and his ability to successfully hold multiple jobs. Eventually he decided to attend Duquesne on the GI bill and graduated with a Major in Foreign Trade & Languages and Transportation. Now retired, he travels around the world with his wife Carmen visiting other cultures and enjoying extraordinary fishing trips.

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