Nearly 80 years after his discharge from the Royal Australian Air Force, Phillip ‘Monro’ Preuss remains a celebrated member of the Air Force family.

That bond was beautifully reinforced when current serving members visited Settlers Village in Wagga Wagga to help him celebrate his 100th birthday.

“I think once you serve, you always serve,” said Wing Commander Jodie Mason, of 1 Recruit Training Unit (1RTU) at RAAF Base Wagga, presenting Monro with a letter and commemorative coin from the Chief of Air Force.

“Getting to remind a member of our Air Force team, even so long after serving, that he's still part of the Air Force family – I think this will be a career highlight.”

For Monro, who was born in Henty, NSW, a century ago, the recognition came as a surprise.

“I didn't know the letter from the Chief was coming,” he said with characteristic humility.

His Air Force journey began in 1943 when he joined the Air Training Corps.

“I joined at 18, I suppose because of the war,” Monro recalled.

After enlisting, he trained as a wireless technician before being posted to the Catalina Flying Boat Repair Depot at Rathmines.

'We actually didn’t expect him to recover. Now he’s back up and as good as ever.'

His most significant posting was to 200 (Special Duties) Flight at Leyburn Airfield, Queensland, supporting Z Special Unit operations. 

“I was looking after the radios in the aircraft,” he said of his role on Liberator bombers conducting covert missions over enemy territory.

After his 1946 discharge as Leading Aircraftman, Monro secured a soldier settler block at Old Junee, where his son John remembers how resourceful his father was.

“Our house that I grew up in actually was an Air Force hut that he converted into our home. He's a doer,” John said. 

Monro married Shirley in 1956, raising three children together.

“We’re a large family and have managed to stay together,” John said of the clan that now includes seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, who gathered for the milestone celebration.

The family faced challenges when Shirley died in mid-2024 after dementia, and Monro himself required emergency brain surgery after a fall.

“We actually didn’t expect him to recover,” John said. “Now he’s back up and as good as ever.”

When asked what's kept him going for 100 years, Monro’s answer was simple: “By the grace of God, I suppose.”