Victor Robert Bono was born on 16 January 1914 in San Francisco, California, USA, the son of Victor Franz Bono (1890-1975) and Thordis Pederson (1895-1991).
He married Stanlee A. Data (b.1915) and their daughter, Mikel Ann Bono (1937-1995) was born on 8 June 1937. The United States Federal Census 1940 shows them residing at 185 College Avenue, San Francisco, California. He was training as a service pilot in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, when in 1940 he went to Canada and joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Embarking from Montreal, Canada, aboard the S.S. Epin of the Standard Fruit Steamship Company Ltd and arriving in Liverpool on 15 September 1940, he is shown on the ship's manifest as a Pilot Officer, travelling 1st Class.
He was assigned as a founder member of No.71 Squadron and our Picture Source shows his service details. He was promoted to Flying Officer and is shown as F/O Victor Bono on the Eagle Squadrons war memorial in Grosvenor Square, Westminster, London.
He received an honourable discharge from the United States Army Air Forces on 17 December 1945 and died, aged 73 years, on 5 August 1987 in Stockton, San Joaquin County, California, USA.
When we originally published this record in 2021 we stated that our Picture Source also claims that his US Draft registration record gives his height as 6 feet 11.5 inches which we thought would have made it a very tight fit in both Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire aeroplanes. In 2023 we were contacted by his daughter, Brenda Bono, who disputed this height and advised that it was probably 5 feet 11 inches.
Credit for this entry to: Andrew Behan.
