Thomas Dix was instantly a celebrity of sorts after Mt. Pleasant’s annual Memorial Day ceremony.
Maybe it was the ball cap on his head proclaiming him a World War II veteran that drew others over. The 101-year-old Donegal Township man shook hands, hugged and smiled.
“I like that they still recognize that I was in the service, and I’m glad I served,” he said at the borough’s Veterans Park.
A few hundred people clad in red, white and blue took up spots on Mt. Pleasant Borough’s Main Street as military veterans marched down the hill toward the park for the solemn annual event. They passed the doughboy memorial statue, erected in the wake of World War I to honor the community’s soldiers of all eras, and turned into Veterans Park, which has an honor roll wall, fountain and gazebo.
Members of the town’s American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts were dressed in their uniforms as was Mt. Pleasant Area High School’s marching band.
Dix removed the ball cap from his head while the band played the national anthem.
He was drafted into the Navy in 1943 at 18 and found himself in the Pacific Ocean. Four days after Christmas in 1945, he was rescued by the Japanese after USS Minivet sank while clearing mines following the end of the war. Dix said there were 90 soldiers on board and 31 didn’t survive.
A Connellsville High School graduate, Dix returned to the area after being discharged in April 1946. He was accompanied Monday by son Dale Dix of Greensburg, who said he was proud to see others showing their support.
“He’s still with us here. That’s something to be grateful for,” Dale Dix said.
As of 2025, 45,418 of the 16.4 million soldiers who fought in World War II are still alive, according to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs statistics.
Both Thomas Dix and fellow Navy veteran Regis Sofranko of Mt. Pleasant Borough agreed on the importance of remembering the sacrifice of military members. That goes especially for young people, Sofranko said.
“They wouldn’t have diddly squat today” without that sacrifice, said Sofranko, who was parade grand marshal.
He served for three years in the 1960s and was deployed during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
“It’s truly an honor and a privilege just to hear the stories and know what he went through for the country and for us as a family and as a nation,” said son Bob Sofranko of Mt. Pleasant Township, a member of the VFW Post 3368 auxiliary.
Regis Sofranko sat front and center during the ceremony and waved to the applauding crowd after his military service was detailed by Bill Williams, commander of American Legion Post 446.
“This is an honor that you earned and deserve, sir,” said Mayor Ken Phillabaum to Sofranko.