WW II veteran receives Purple Heart after 60 years

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Rebecca Danét
  • 30th Space Wing Public Affairs
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) --  A 24-year-old navigator was wounded during a bombing mission over Germany on Sept. 13, 1944, at the height of World War II. Nearly 60 years later, retired Lt. Col. Wayne Ehlers received the Purple Heart he earned when shrapnel flew through his oxygen mask, cut his microphone line and smashed into his chin.

Col. Frank Gallegos, 30th Space Wing commander, presented the medal to Colonel Ehlers in a formal ceremony here July 26. Marie Ehlers, the colonel’s wife of 56 years, was on hand for the celebration.

In 1944, Colonel Ehlers flew on a B-17 bomber with the 526th Squadron from the 379th Bombardment Group out of England. The day of his injury, he was flying on his 24th mission. An oil refinery was the target.

“We were trying to keep them from producing again and I think we did a pretty good job because the Germans were certainly running out of fuel,” Colonel Ehlers said.

Escorted by P-51 and P-47 fighter aircraft, Colonel Ehlers’ bomber, “Everybody’s Baby,” was flying over its target at 27,000 feet when it was hit by anti-aircraft fire.

“We had two engines knocked out and a third engine was leaking oil,” the colonel said.

The crew completed its mission dropping its bombs on target and then jettisoned everything that added extra weight to the plane. From guns and ammunition to the ball turret on the underside of the airplane, the crew tossed everything they could to help the plane stay aloft as it headed for Brussels, Belgium.

The pilot and co-pilot were strapped in up front while the rest of the crew was crouched down in the radio area at the back of the plane, Colonel Ehlers said. Not sure where the front lines were, the B-17 crew landed wheels-up in Ciney, Belgium. After tearing though two fences and several cow pastures, the plane finally came to rest on top of a third fence.

“We found out when we got down there, the Germans had left five days before,” Colonel Ehlers said.

Near the French-Belgian border, the crew made its way to an Army hospital where their wounds were treated. A few days later, they stuck out their collective thumbs and hitchhiked to Paris on a weapons carrier.

“It was a little hairy at times,” Colonel Ehlers said, “but we got through it in good shape.”

He went on to complete 30 missions in Europe and returned to the United States to become a navigation instructor.

Today, Colonel and Mrs. Ehlers live in Camarillo, Calif. They stay active through volunteer work, hobbies and travel.