It's About More Than A Medal

Evening News and Tribune - Jeffersonville, IN, USA

Published: March 05, 2009 07:05 pm

By ANDREW ALBATYS
Local Columnist

Sixty three years after Lt. Jack Scanlan’s ill-fated flight, a diverse group of family, friends and history students met in Louisville to honor his memory.

In June 1945, Scanlan’s P-51 Mustang was shot down in a dogfight over Japan. He bailed out of his burning plane, was captured by Japanese soldiers and then turned over to a civilian mob. The mob, many of them woman, killed the wounded flier. He was 24 years old.

On Feb. 27, Jack’s friends and family gathered at St. Xavier High School to see retired Maj. Bill Scanlan, Jack’s only surviving brother, accept the U.S. Prisoner of War Medal that Jack had earned so many years ago. The school was a fitting choice for the ceremony, as all three of the Scanlan brothers were proud graduates of St. Xavier. Chuck Willenbrink. the school’s director of advancement, was a gracious host to the event.

The Prisoner of War Medal was authorized in 1985. It is awarded to any soldier that was held prisoner by an enemy of the United States during an armed conflict. Soldiers from World War I to the present may receive the medal. The award of the medal is recognition of their honorable service while a prisoner.

Seeing Lt. Jack Scanlan awarded the Prisoner of War Medal marked the completion of a decades-long odyssey for the Scanlan family. The process was begun in 1993 by Jack’s brother, the late Col. Joseph Scanlan, and seen to completion by Joe’s daughter, Anne.

The ceremony began with an invocation by Brother George Willenbrink. Willenbrink, an Xavierian brother and a member of the St. X class of 1944, offered a prayer for Jack and his family. In his soft spoken words, he captured the thought of many of those present with the hope that Jack was in some way aware of the gathering in his honor.

I’m sure that all the young men that Willenbrink had seen go off to war in his many years as a teacher were included in his thoughts and prayers that day.

In 2007, the History Channel aired an excellent documentary about the long-range flights of the P-51 Mustangs in the Pacific. A segment of the documentary was shown during the ceremony. It focused on the mission that Jack Scanlan and his close friend and fellow P-51 pilot, Bob Scamara, were on the day Jack was killed.

The segment included an interview with Scamara and a computer-created simulation of the actual dogfight. That day, Scamara shot down three Japanese planes and damaged several more. It was a bittersweet day for Scamara, who tells the interviewer that he would “gladly trade those three victories to have Jack back.”

For me, the most touching moment was seeing Bill Scanlan, himself a seasoned veteran of 60 combat missions in Vietnam, watching — with tears streaming down his face — the film of his brother’s last flight. It’s an image that few of us are likely to forget.

Jack’s niece, Anne, spoke eloquently of her uncle and her family. She recounted a time when her father, in a pensive mood, reflected on the wonderful life he had enjoyed. A life blessed with a loving family and a successful military career. He questioned, as many survivors do, why he had been so fortunate while his brother had died so young.

Anne talked about closure and the healing that comes only with time. She read a poem given to her by noted World War II historian Henry Sakaida. The poem — originally given to Sakaida by a Japanese officer — tells us that wisdom, understanding and faith in God come with age. Anne closed her remarks by telling those assembled that Jack’s great nephew recently had a son. They named him Jack.

The ceremony was also attended by a group of St. Xavier advanced history students. Watching the film and seeing Bill Scanlan was a poignant visual reminder that the wars they read about in their history books were fought by real people. People who lived, loved and laughed. People that had families and friends that cared about them. Learning about the Scanlan brothers and their service to their country is a reminder that the bar is set high for the young people of the United States.

The ceremony concluded with the presentation of the medal. It was presented to Bill Scanlan by Brig. Gen. Michael Dornbush. It seemed particularly appropriate that the medal be presented by an Air Force general, as all three of the Scanlan brothers had served in that branch of the service.

The general — whose own father had been a prisoner of war during World War II — seemed to possess a genuine appreciation of the Scanlans’ sacrifice. In presenting the medal, he recognized not only Jack’s service, but Bill’s as well. Listening to Dornbush as he talked to Bill Scanlan, it was evident that the Air Force of today has a great deal of respect for the airmen of yesterday.

For me, seeing Bill Scanlan surrounded by his family, holding his brother’s long overdue medal made the long wait worthwhile.

In the end, it was about more than a medal. More than flags and uniforms. It was about love and respect for those who came before us and made our lives better. It was about love of country, faith in God, and as importantly, family.

Andrew J. Albatys is a Henryville resident and business owner. He can be reached via e-mail at douglassloop@aol.com