100 South Mill Avenue

I was pleased to see this recent story about the old hangars from the WWII pilot training program at Falcon Field. There is a connection to Monti’s. From approximately 1943 to 1947 the bar/restaurant portion of what is now my establishment was leased and operated by Eugene and Lucille Paine. Eugene is deceased, but Lucille visited me a few years ago and gave me the following photograph, now displayed on the wall at the East end of our bar. The photo shows Gene Paine attaching a British military flag to the wall behind the bar in honor of his many British pilot-trainee customers from Falcon Field.

For more on this general subject read the piece by Ed Taylor linked below.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/104812

December 20, 2007 – 9:13PM
Historic Falcon Field hangars find new life
Ed Taylor, Tribune

Two historic hangars at Mesa’s Falcon Field, the original ones used to train British pilots in World War II, have returned to their roots, once again serving as pilot training and aircraft
refurbishing centers. [...] Although the hangars, which are located on Fighter Aces Drive, look unremarkable from the outside, they have witnessed plenty of interesting history. Falcon Field was built in 1941 and operated under government contract by Southwest Airways, a private company backed by Hollywood stars such as Henry Fonda, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart, according to the Mesa Web site.
The company operated several fields as World War II heated up, including
Thunderbird in Glendale and Falcon, which was designated to train
British pilots.
The field opened in September 1941, before Pearl Harbor and the U.S.
entry into the war. It trained British pilots, and a few Americans,
throughout the war.