Bill Mitchell, New Zealand’s Oldest World War II Veteran, has been pronounced dead. Learn all about the War veteran.
Bill Mitchell, New Zealand’s oldest living World War II soldier, has died at the age of 108.
According to Pete Dawson, Mitchell died in the early hours of Monday morning, former president of the Christchurch Returned Services Association and personal friend.
Dawson stated that Mitchell was a sergeant in the air force’s engineering branch in the Pacific during WWII and had served on Guadalcanal.
Bill Mitchell Death And Obituary
Bill Mitchell, New Zealand’s oldest living WWII soldier, has died
Mitchell’s son-in-law, Nick Nicholson, announced his death on Monday morning.
During the war, Mitchell was a member of the air force’s engineering service in the Pacific.
On September 9, 1939, he entered the air force and was dismissed six years later.
He has been a Returned Services Association member from the day he was released after the war.
For several years, the former Royal New Zealand Air Force engineer led Christchurch’s Anzac Day dawn ceremony festivities in various vehicles, including a World War II American Jeep, a New Zealand Air Force Land Rover, the back of a Harley Davidson trike, and a mobility scooter.
NZ’s oldest WWII Veteran, Bill Mitchell, passed away this morning aged 108. Always a gentleman & a cheeky bugger too. I’ve had the privilege of telling some of his stories over the past few years & meeting his wonderful family in the process- who will dearly miss him. RIP Bill ? pic.twitter.com/5hV3J2639Y
— Maddy Lloyd (@maddy__lloyd) November 8, 2021
Bill Mitchell Age: How Old Was He?
Bill Mitchell died at the age of 108.
Mitchell didn’t quit driving until he was 106 years old due to declining mobility in his hip and leg.
Six months later, though, he was driving a V8 supercar at Christchurch’s Ruapuna Raceway.
The Queen’s grandfather, King George V, was still on the throne when Mitchell was born in Otautau, Southland, in 1913.
Mitchell went to Christchurch in his early teens and worked as a metalworker apprentice.
New Zealand’s oldest living World War II veteran, Bill Mitchell has died at 108 years old https://t.co/xXCVz0pBpv
— H24 News New Zealand (@h24news_nz) November 8, 2021
Meet Bill Mitchell Family & Children Details
Bill Mitchell married his wife in September 1947 after being released from the air force, and the couple opened their first grocery store on Nursery Rd, followed by three more.
Mitchell’s wife died in 2009, and he spent the remaining four years of his life at a retirement home.
Nicholson said his father-in-law was always surrounded by an “extremely close family” with three daughters, four grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.
Mitchell has long claimed that garlic was one of the keys to his long life.
His family previously stated that the notion stemmed from an imprisoned buddy and connected with a guard who offered him garlic. Because of the garlic, the friend was regarded to be pretty healthy when he was released.
Bill Mitchell, New Zealand’s oldest WWII veteran, dies aged 108 https://t.co/5gisIJfKyH pic.twitter.com/cjNBX3wKqP
— The Press Newsroom (@PressNewsroom) November 8, 2021