OBSERVER Photo by Natasha Matteliano Bill Reardon is pictured Tuesday outside his Dunkirk home. Reardon, who turns 100 years old today, is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

Bill Reardon exemplifies the best of Dunkirk.

As a city native, he served his country in the U.S. Air Force near the end of World War II. He married the love of his life, Helen June, in 1942.

In 1953, he built the house he still resides in to this day on Fairview Avenue. In addition, he loyally served — and thoroughly enjoyed — his 38 years in the Dunkirk Fire Department.

Today, a man who still serves as a member of the city’s Citizens Advisory Council, will mark a special milestone — on this very important day. Veteran William A. Reardon turns 100 years old.

Anyone who has crossed paths with Reardon knows his dedication, faith and perspective. He’s a man of God who is grateful for all that life has given.

He also takes nothing for granted.

Reardon says he grew up on a farm on Route 60, before it became fully developed and heavily traveled. He went to Schools 3 and 6 and finished his education in the Dunkirk High School. After graduation, he took on a number of labor intensive jobs, working with the Civilian Conservation Corps in Livingston County near Letchworth State Park. During that time, he helped in the building of roads as well as water systems that still serve that region.

But a relationship that began with a glimpse of a woman who was baby-sitting on Green Street started a 73-year love affair. “When I saw her, I knew I would have to meet her,” he said.

Reardon knew she was the one, but getting his mom’s approval was important during that era. “My mother got along so good with her … and I believe my mother knew she was going to be part of the family … and we got married.”

That special happening occurred one day after his wife’s 19th birthday on June 6, 1942. “She had such a beautiful mind that she could do just about anything … and she helped me when I was building this house.”

At the time he and his wife were without neighbors as only three homes surrounded his. That’s changed greatly over the years as the city started to grow to the east. “You make up your mind and decide what you’re going to do, then go and do it. … If you’re going to do something, do it and do it well,” he said regarding the construction of his home.

His other fond memories revolved around a job he loved: serving as a firefighter. While working with the department, he saw the profession evolve. Fire trucks then needed the assistance of 20 men to put up a ladder of 40 feet high by hand. Imagine his excitement — as well as his colleagues — to have a hydraulic ladder that could reach heights of 75 feet.

Reardon recalled a former city police chief trying to make that climb. “We had a little party prior to that … he had a little bit to drink,” he recalled. “I told him, ‘You’re not going to get up there to begin with’ and that’s when he realized that’s a feat within itself if you think you’re going to climb a 75-foot ladder. The new ones with the basket, you get in them and they take you right up in the blink of an eye.”

During a hotel fire at Fourth Street and Central Avenue, Reardon drove that truck from the Eagle Street headquarters. “We knocked that fire down in a hurry,” he recalled.

Reardon’s dedication to the department could be seen in recent years each Sept. 11 when he would be in attendance for the city’s annual ceremony remembering the terrorist attacks on America that took the lives of so many first responders. When the planes were crashing into the World Trade Center, Reardon watched in horror knowing that his grandson was working there at the time.

“He got out of it,” he said, noting his grandson, Jason, left the financial field in Manhattan and now works with Genesee Community College.

Reardon remains plugged in to what is happening in Dunkirk. He admitted that while having his breakfast, he reads the OBSERVER from cover to cover.

Today, he admits, is quite an achievement.

“That’s the big day,” Reardon said. “This is the one you look forward to. … That’s the one I want. The big 100. With the Lord’s help, you can get there.”