Source: City of Broken Arrow
Ret. U.S. Air Force Maj. Virgil Domino, 99, is a World War II veteran who flew 18,000 hours as a Pilot in Command and flew a B-47 carrying the most significant nuclear weapon of its time during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Domino served 22 years in uniform and will turn 100 years old on Aug. 31.
The City of Broken Arrow recognized Domino for his service at the March 1 City Council meeting with a proclamation and a standing ovation from the council and all those in attendance. He responded by dancing a little jig with his arms raised and invited everyone to his farm for his August birthday celebration.
To say Virgil is an American hero is an understatement. Gene A. Roberts, Commander of American Legion Post #110, says Domino is the classic American patriot. He has been a member in good standing at Broken Arrow’s American Legion Post #110 continuously for the past 20 years.
“He does not brag about his career. He doesn’t ask for recognition for what he has done. He will tell you, ‘I just did my job, and I stuck to it,'” Roberts said in his presentation to the council.
About his service during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Domino says, “For 30 days, all we did was fly ammunition and bombs from New Mexico to Florida. Very few people know how close to WWIII we were at the time.”
After that, Domino monitored England and Spain as a part of the Strategic Air Command and spent time training for the B-47’s “pop-up” maneuver bombing strategy.
Born and raised in Iowa, Domino was the typical Iowa farm boy who loved airplanes. He joined the U.S. Army in Nov. 1942 and transferred into the U.S. Army Air Corps to fulfill his passion for flying.
He served as the Pilot in Command for several different types of aircraft, including the Ryan PT-19, the Vultee BT-13 Valiant, the Cessna UC-78, The Northrop P-61 Black Widow, the Cessna L-19 Bird Dog, a North American T-6 Texan, the B-25 Mitchell Bomber, the North American T-28 Trojan, a Piper J3 Cub, the Douglas C-47, and the C123K with twin props and twin jets as well as the Boeing B-47 Stratojet Bomber.
Domino retired from the Air Force in 1965. After seeing an Air America (CIA) ad for pilots, he flew clandestine missions out of Saigon, Vietnam, Laos, and Bangkok in Southeast Asia from 1965 until 1972. Retirement without flying wasn’t his kind of retirement.
When asked about any close calls, he recalled refueling a B-47 in the air by way of a tanker near the Northern Lights.
“Visibility from the cockpit is non-existent,” he said. “It’s all instrument flying and hoping and praying the boom operator knows what he is doing.”
Domino and his wife Millie were married in Boise, Idaho, and their marriage lasted for 72 years. She died two years ago at age 101, and he cared for her by himself until she passed away in their Broken Arrow home.
“A few years ago, he jokingly told the Legion members that his wife was elderly. She was 101- years-old,” Roberts said. “He was 97 at the time. With humor like this, it is no wonder they have had such longevity of life.”
Article written with Gene A. Roberts
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