WWII Veteran Cosmo Monell started barbering at age 14. He became so good that when he was drafted for service in WWII he took on the assignment of cutting all the GI’s, all the soldiers hair. General Patton learned of Cosmo’s expertise and requested him to come over and cut his hair. Patton was so pleased with the results he had Cosmo Monell travel with him as his personal barber all over Europe as brother and fellow WWII Veteran Michael Monell shares in this excerpt from an oral history interview on November 9th, 2011 at St. James Cathedral in Orlando.
Michael says, “Patton was a mean guy, but everybody loved him. He was a great general, very great generals at that time.”
When Cosmo Monell left the military he chose to settle in Kissimmee, FL where he opened a barber shop on Main Street and became known throughout Kissimmee as “Tony the Barber”.
ABOVE: Cosmo Anthony “Tony” Monell
LISTEN (3:45)
Cosmo Anthony “Tony” Monell passed away on September 25, 2002.
Hear more about the Eight Monell Brothers and their World War II Service.
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WWII Veteran Michael A. Monell
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WWII Veteran Cosmo Monell started barbering at age 14. He became so good that when he was drafted for service in WWII he took on the assignment of cutting all the GI's, all the soldiers hair. General Patton learned of Cosmo's expertise and requested him to come over and cut his hair. Patton was so pleased with the results he had Cosmo Monell travel with him as his personal barber all over Europe as brother and fellow WWII Veteran Michael Monell shares in this excerpt from an oral history interview on November 9th, 2011.
Michael says, "Patton was a mean guy, but everybody loved him. He was a great general, very great generals at that time.
When Cosmo Monell left the military he chose to settle in Kissimmee, FL where he opened a barber shop on Main Street and became known throughout Kissimmee as "Tony the Barber".
