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Willie Vila, His 6 Brothers All Marched Off To War

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By KEVIN WALKER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 9, 2008

TAMPA - Willie Vila distinguished himself as an individual in many ways during his life.

As a Marine, he won three Purple Hearts, a Navy Cross and a French Cross during World War II. He and his wife, Dora, were married 60 years and raised two daughters. He built a house in Tampa in 1949 that he lived in until his death last week.

But Vila, who died Friday at age 83, will be remembered best as part of a unique Tampa family.

Born and raised in West Tampa, Vila and all six of his brothers served in the military, starting with Willie Vila and his oldest brother, Joe. Both lied about their age after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and entered the Marines at 17.

Willie Vila is the first of the brothers to die. He didn't recover from surgery three weeks ago on an intestinal tumor.

On Tuesday, more than 120 family members and friends gathered to honor him at Blount & Curry Funeral Home in Tampa. A graveside service is set today at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.

The Vila brothers put in a combined 50 years of military service, Hector Vila said. But of all of them, "Willie was the most gung-ho." Hector Vila also said Willie was the best storyteller. But in a letter Willie Vila wrote about his war experiences, he admitted there are things he didn't talk about: "I don't like talking about the bloody battles because I lost a lot of my friends there."

He later added, "Our motto had to be, 'Kill or be killed.'"

Vila served in the 1st Marine Division K Company. In his letter, Vila said he fought at Guadalcanal, New Guinea, Palau Island and New Caledonia. He also fought in Okinawa, where he was injured by a mortar shell. After the war's end, he arrived by train in Tampa, but no one knew he had returned. Here's how he described the final stage of his homecoming:

"As I was walking home to Palmetto Street, my small brother, Denio, who was playing at Rey Park where we all played, was the first one to see me. But by the time we had walked a few blocks the word had spread and people were all coming out to welcome me home.

"My mother was so very happy to see me and insisted on inspecting my arms and legs because of all the stories she'd heard of my war injuries."

There was something he did not know at the time. In a eulogy of his grandfather Tuesday, Matthew Vila Tannenbaum said Vila's mother, Carmen, locked herself in a bathroom the day he and Joe left and "made a vow that she would not eat another crumb of bread if God would protect her two sons."

It was a promise she kept as her other sons later joined the military.

"In fact, Carmen did not taste a single crust of bread from the day my grandfather and his brother left until her death 46 years later," Tannenbaum said.

Upon his return from the war, Vila worked as diesel mechanic for Hunt Truck Sales, married Dora, and had two daughters, Nancy and Denise. Dora died last year.

On July 2, 2005, the city of Tampa honored the brothers by renaming West Pines Park, 700 N. Armenia Ave., as Vila Brothers Park. This year, the city unveiled a 5 1/2 foot-tall granite monument at the park in their honor.

The U.S. flag at the park will fly at half-staff until next week.

"I'll raise it back on Monday," Hector Vila said Tuesday, after his brother's funeral.

"It's just something I thought we should do."

WILLIE VILA

AGE: 83

BORN: Aug. 18, 1924

DIED: Jan. 4, 2008

SURVIVORS: daughter Nancy Vila Harper and son-in-law J. Bruce Harper of Seminole; daughter Denise Vila of La Jolla, Calif.; grandchildren Whitney Vila Harper, Kathryn Cullinan Harper and Matthew Vila Tannenbaum; six brothers and four sisters.

SERVICES: Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, 11 a.m. today

Reporter Kevin Walker can be reached at (813) 259-7975 or kwalker@tampatrib.com.

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