Charles J. McMullen, born on Sept. 4, 1923, of Norwalk, peacefully passed away on Sept. 23 in Norwalk Hospital.
Charles McMullen, 94, passed away on Sept. 23. His funeral will take place at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 26 in Norwalk.
Charles was a Norwalk resident his entire life. He was predeceased by his parents, Bessie (Campbell) and John McMullen; his brother Joseph McMullen and sisters Ann Paquin and Mary McMullen, all of Norwalk, and his wife Laura McMullen.
Charles graduated from Norwalk High School and he became a radio operator and machine gunner in the Army Air Corps in the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber named “Honey.”
In April 1944, he was part of a nine-man crew that was assigned to the 381st bomb group: “L”.
For the next year, Charlie flew in over 30 strategic bombing missions all over Europe. These long missions, often lasting up to 10 hours, included flying over Belgium (1), France (21) and Germany (10). Some of these were actually in support of the critical D-Day invasion (June 6, 1944).
Charles was the last living survivor of his crew. Technical Sergeant Charles McMullen was honorably discharged and awarded the Distinguish Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three (3) clusters for combat flights and for his wartime military service.
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— an obituary from Magner Funeral Home
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After the war, Charles was employed by and retired from Sealtest Dairy. He then went on to graduate from Norwalk Community College and was still attending the Lifetime Learners Center at that college.
He served on the Norwalk Library Board and was an active member at the Norwalk, Westport and Darien Senior Centers, enjoying many trips and activities with all of them.
Charles loved God, his family, his church, his friends and his life. He lived to help others and wanted everyone to know, “Don’t mourn for me, I had a wonderful life.”
He is survived by his daughter Joanne Cerulo; granddaughter Adrienne Cerulo and grandson Michael Cerulo and several nieces.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Norwalk Meals on Wheels program through the Norwalk Senior Center.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017 at St. Matthew Church, 216 Scribner Ave., Norwalk, with military burial to follow at St. John Cemetery. For directions or to leave online condolence, please go to the funeral home website.