As time goes on, there are fewer and fewer veterans still alive from WWII. In a few years, none will be left. So, it was a real privilege last summer to watch this WWII P-51 pilot climb onboard a Mustang once again, recalling his time flying the iconic fighter over war-torn Europe.
Major Elmer Pankratz (USAF retired) flew 43 recon missions over Europe after the Battle of the Bulge, and flew over 800 hours in the P-51. At over 100 years old, he is still funny, witty and sharp, and remembers WWII like it was yesterday. He served with the 160th Squadron, 373rd Group, 9th Air Force.
Granting a WWII veteran’s wish
I met up with Pankratz at the National Warplane Museum’s warbird air show in Geneseo, NY last July with my colleague AJ Bartucca (we both worked on the air show’s media team). Pankratz only wished for one thing; to climb back in a Mustang, his “Aluminum Sweetheart” as he calls it.
I work with most of the warbird community and half the air shows and museums across the country, so this was a wish easy to grant. I called my friend Scott Yoak, who was in attendance performing in his P-51D “Quick Silver”, but he was flying. So, I called another Mustang pilot friend, Louis Horschel, who was also in attendance for the show.
Both Louis and Scott have a special place in their hearts for our veterans, so I already knew they would accommodate. I linked up with Louis and we waited for Elmer to arrive with his son. At the same time, Scott landed and parked his Mustang. I filled him in on Elmer’s wish, and without hesitation Scott invited him onboard.
Reunited with his Aluminum Sweetheart
“This is a dream. It’s a dream…,” said Pankratz as he marveled at the plane. “One way or another, even if I have to flap my arms I’m gonna get up in that cockpit.” He smiled ear to ear as he walked around the Mustang to the front, where we had a ladder waiting to help him up on the wing.
Pankratz wasted no time getting back in the saddle, cane and all. A group of us made sure Mr Pankratz could climb onto the plane safely, while Scott and Louis both helped him get into the cockpit. As he sat down, cheers erupted from a crowd gathered, and Pankratz threw his fists up in celebration.
For the next 15 minutes, both Scott and Louis joined Pankratz, recalling his time in the war and flying the legendary fighter plane.
A walk down memory land
“They (Nazis) shot at me plenty of times, light flak and heavy flak,” recalled Pankratz of the war. “We usually flew at 5,000 ft., but in those days I could see a dog running down the road from a mile away, and 5k ft is about a mile. We found out that light flak, which was mostly 20mm rounds, well those round were really reaching and less accurate at 5k ft. The heavy flak seemed to get more accurate after it gets up a ways, and that goes on and on.
So, 5k ft was just the safest for us to be flying. You could still be shot by both light and heavy flak, because you’re within range. One day, I saw a tracer come right over my canopy.”
“Usually they (Nazis) had 4 anti-aircraft guns in a box, and they would follow the most accurate one,” recalled Pankratz about dodging anti-aircraft fire. “So, whatever he shot at, all the other guns would follow on the same target. You had an awful lot of lead flying in your direction. That’s how it was about halfway through.
Towards the end of the war, there was nothing left. I would fly over and Germany was decimated. When I flew over cities all I saw was rubble. If you were a very small town we left that alone, that wasn’t worth anything. So, they left that alone. A very very small town was the safest place Germans could get.”
Pankratz is German himself, but felt no guilt in the war
“I am a German extraction,” said Pankratz. “A lot of people have asked me if I felt guilty, maybe shooting at my cousins down there. I wasn’t born in Germany, but my folks were.”
“No, I didn’t feel bad about it. They were the enemy, but I didn’t have any hate for them, until I found out about the concentration camps. That’s when I didn’t want to be German anymore. When I found out about them, how brutal they were, and I got more and more details….. In fact, I have pictures that a Head Intel Officer took at one of the camps. He took the pictures and I developed them and printed a set for him and a set for me. The pictures have never been published. They are all the same, stacked bodies and skeletons with skin hanging on them, just terrible stuff.”
God willing, Scott will fly Mr Pankratz in the Mustang this year, as long as he is healthy enough for it. I will be documenting to tell the story! Stay tuned…
