Zosimo T. Monzon

Zosimo Topacio Monzon Sr., known as “Antonio,” was born on June 18, 1926, in Imus, Philippines.¹ Monzon joined the U.S. Navy in the 1940s and served for over three decades, ultimately rising to the rank of Navy Master Chief Petty Officer.² In the 1950s, he was assigned to staff President Harry S. Truman’s “Little White House” in Key West, Florida, and was later stationed at the White House.³

As early as 1961, he appears on White House staff lists as a houseman, a job that entails cleaning and organizing rooms, moving furniture, and keeping both public and private areas tidy.⁴ By 1969, newspapers noted that he ran the White House laundry, and during the presidencies of Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon, Monzon was a valet.⁵ In this role, he managed presidential wardrobes, ran errands, and traveled with the presidents on important trips including visits to China and Russia.⁶ 

Monzon retired from the U.S. Navy in 1978, having achieved the rank of Navy Master Chief Petty Officer, but he remained on the Residence Staff as a civilian employee until 1988.⁷ He passed away on May 13, 2017, and was buried with military honors at Maryland Veterans Cemetery in Cheltenham, Maryland.⁸