B-52 pilot still flying high after 33 years

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Alice K. Moore
  • 40th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (AFPN) --  During the evacuation of Quang Tri in 1972, 1st Lt. Bill Jankowski, an O2-A pilot, flew out of DaNang Air Base, Vietnam, to find enemy targets and bring air support assistance to South Vietnamese who were resisting North Vietnamese. Quang Tri had Americans within the area, and Jankowski's role was vital in trying to evacuate them.

There was a heavy North Vietnam push coming toward South Vietnam. While directing air support against the enemy, he began to look around and contacted a Republic of Vietnam army ranger battalion and began searching for additional targets for air strikes. After the evacuation was complete, he directed air strikes for the ranger battalion and then had to leave the area because of low fuel. As he turned to leave, the front engine exploded and he glided his plane near the ranger battalion on the ground. He then jettisoned the door and parachuted out of the burning O-2A.

After spending the night on the ground evading capture, two helicopters arrived to retrieve the downed pilot and some American advisers. Once they were in the air, one of the helicopters was hit by an SA-7, burst into flames and crashed. The helicopter carrying the lieutenant went into an auto-rotation and began to fly low. It flew right above enemy tanks on the ground and was shot down by machine gunfire, forcing Jankowski and the crew of the chopper to land in a rice paddy. Soon after, another helicopter came to retrieve them. Jankowski left Vietnam and returned home.

Thirty-one years later, Lt. Col. Bill Jankowski, who is now assigned to the 40th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron at a forward-deployed location, is still flying over targets supporting America's ideal of spreading freedom across the globe.

Jankowski, a Blue Island, Ill., native, received a bachelor's degree in zoology from Colorado College in Colorado Springs. While working on his graduate studies at the University of Wyoming, he decided to join the Air Force during the middle of the draft.

"Before I got drafted, I had already decided on volunteering for the Air Force," Jankowski said. "I wanted to fly."

Jankowski said he joined the Air Force through a delayed entry program in order to finish his graduate studies. After finishing his studies, he left to attend Officers Training School in 1969.

After graduating OTS in January 1970, Jankowski was sent to Laredo Air Force Base, Texas, for pilot training. He was then sent to fly in Vietnam in January 1972.

"When I was sent to Vietnam, there was no American ground troop support there," Jankowski said. "There were American advisers assisting the South Vietnamese army, so we were providing air support for them."

Jankowski returned home in July 1972. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross and three Air Medals. He continued on active duty until 1977 when he joined the Air National Guard. He was stationed at Battle Creek ANGB, Mich., where he flew the O-2 and the A-OA37 aircrafts until 1985.

"After I finished my active-duty commitment, I still wanted to fly," Jankowski said. "I loved flying. That's what I cared about. The Guard allowed me to continue doing it. I also cared about my family, and with me being in the National Guard, I knew I wouldn't have to worry about changing stations every few years."

Eight years after joining the ANG, Jankowski said he wanted to work with fighters again. That desire led him to join the Air Force Reserves.

"I had a friend who had worked with a unit at Barksdale," Jankowski said. "He told me there were some openings for a fighter position with the A-10 (Thunderbolt II) school there. I applied for the position and got accepted."

Jankowski has been a member of the Air Force Reserves since 1985 and currently is an Air Reserve Technician instructor pilot assigned to the 93rd Bomb Squadron, a unit of the 917th Wing at Barksdale, La. It was when the A-10 school closed down in 1994 that he switched over to fly the B-52 Stratofortress.

"I was actually supposed to retire in 2000. Due to pilot shortages, the Reserves offered a one-year extension," Jankowski said. "After my year was up, I was offered a 3-year extension which I decided to take."

In what looked like the sunset of his career, Jankowski was called again to active duty in Feburary and sent to fly for the 40th EBS supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

"This is what I've trained for," Jankowski said. "There's always a possibility you're going to be called upon to go at a moment's notice. You just have to be ready to do your job. I was trained to fly and fight, and I was ready to go."