INTRODUCTION AND FIRST OF SIX VETERANS HONORED AT THE HONOR FLIGHT BREAKFAST ON MAY 14, 2016
I would like to begin with the quote by Bill Keane. “Today will become tomorrow’s yesterday from which history is made.”
My father, David Tharp served during WWII as a 101st Airborne paratrooper.
As a little girl, I asked Dad what Europe was like during the war. His response, “The trees were tall and the grass was green just like here.” I replied, “Oh, Dad!” He was avoiding my question. But he answered truthfully. The grass was green, the trees were tall, the sun was shining and the birds were most likely singing just like here. But there wasn’t a battleground here at home. No, it was not just like here at home, not until September 11, 2001…
On that note, I began with the first of six veterans honored at the annual Honor Flight fundraising event hosted by the Ontario Women’s Republican Group at the beautiful Champion Hills Golf and Country Club in Victor, New York.
Elmer Pankratz always wanted to fly and when Uncle Sam came calling during WWII, the then 18-year old Elmer armed with a high school diploma, a fierce determination, and a love of flying, became a pilot.
He wanted to fly the P-51 Mustang so badly that he took on the most dangerous assignments. Elmer’s book, I NEEDED A WAR TO DO IT, is a collection of his wartime experiences.
Major Elmer Pankratz made 43 combat mission flights, which would range between 3–4 hours. The summer could be brutally hot and he always wore gloves and his flight suit zipped up tight. He had heard of too many pilots who did not wear gloves, and were unable to get their canopy open because the intense heat.
The silk escape map shown in the photo covered western Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and eastern France. Elmer shared something he will never ever forget. It was on a battlefield one day where the Germans and Americans were battling it out until a dog came running in the middle of open fire with a little girl running after him.
One of Elmer’s comrades yelled, “Cease fire”! Then a German soldier yelled, “Cease fire”! Each side waited for the girl and her dog to leave for safety before they resumed firing.
It was in that moment that Elmer witnessed the rare human side of war.
~ Jenny La Sala
Author, Contributor and Editor
