A Deltona senior is one of the latest of what Tom Brokaw called the Greatest Generation to reach the century mark.

Joseph Novak, a native of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and a retiree of AT&T and the New York City telephone system, celebrated his 100th birthday at Sterling Park in Deltona April 8. Friends and first responders were on hand to join him on the happy occasion.

“I enjoyed being in the Navy, the friends I made and what they taught me a lot about life,” Novak said, adding he wanted to make the Navy his career. 

A service-connected injury a short time later sidelined him.

Novak entered the U.S. Navy in July 1943, just after his graduation from high school.

Following boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, adjacent to Chicago, he was assigned to a radio school at Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania. From there he went to San Bernardino, California, to put his communications training to work.

“I was attached to a Marine unit. They said it was for a special secret mission,” he said.

In the course of the training, however, Novak was injured, and his hearing was impaired.

On the move again, he went to a Navy hospital in Sun Valley, Idaho, for treatment of a broken eardrum and rehabilitation.

Despite the injury, Novak remained on active duty stateside until September 1945. He was discharged with the rank of Radioman 2nd Class. Following his wartime service, Novak became a life member of the American Legion. 

After the war, Novak married and became the father of two sons and later a grandfather of four grandchildren. He made a career with AT&T, including work in Manhattan with the New York City telephone system. 

Novak moved to Florida in 1985. He said he is now a widower with friends and companions in Sterling Park.