Col. Ernest E. Bankey Jr. flew the
P-51 Mustang “Lucky Lady VII”, (44-73045), when he
was assigned to the 385th Fighter Squadron, 364th Fighter Group,
8th USAAF, in the European Theatre of Operations. He enlisted
with the Army Air Corps on April 1, 1941, and after completing
flight training school, was assigned to the 383rd Fighter Squadron,
364th Fighter Group, and accompanied the Group to England. He
flew on the Group’s third combat mission as well as the
last, compiling over 100 sorties and 500 combat hours during
two tours of duty, the latter being assigned to the 385th Fighter
Squadron. Mission reports from the 364th Fighter Group credit
him with 10.5 air-to-air victories, 1 probable, 5.5 air-to-ground
victories, with 5 more aircraft damaged on the ground. He was
awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (Ace in a day) for shooting
down 5.5 aircraft on December 27, 1944 during the Battle of the
Bulge, in which he made the famous radio call: “I have 50
Jerries cornered over Bonn!” He was also awarded the Silver
Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross with Clusters, the Air Medal
with 9 Oak Leaf Clusters, and the French Croix De Guerre with
Palm. Col. Bankey retired from the United States Air Force in
1968, and then worked for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California
on deep-space projects, some of which are still flying to the
outer edges of the solar system today.
Signed by Ernest E. Bankey. |