The Pennington P-51 ‘Lucy Gal’ Tuskegee Flight Memorial (Part 2)

(…continued from Part One)

I remember that spring day in 2011 when I received Leland Pennington’s MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) in the mail. An envelope from the Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell AFB, greeted me at my mailbox, bulging with promise of the information I had been seeking. I could not recall the last time I had been so excited to receive a parcel of snail mail, in the email era. Perhaps when I got my acceptance letter to JCC for the Professional Pilot program, during my senior year in high school. Yet, this brought even more excitement to my spirit. I knew what I was going to hear from the community college I applied to, it was a mere formality. The program wasn’t very popular or competitive. I did not know what I was going to find when I opened up this envelope from the AFHRA, it could be a gold mine.

I delayed opening the envelope until later that evening, so I could have motivation to get through the rest of the day. Once I unwound from a chaotic, but productive day of courses and work, I sat down and opened up the letter. I was simply in awe. What sat before me was a complete narrative of Leland’s last mission, or so I thought at the time (more on that later.) At the top of the papers, a summary of the mission on the day Leland went missing. It was an escort mission, protecting B-24 Liberators of the 49th Bomb Wing over the Attnang-Pucheim Marshalling Yards, in Austria. I turned the page, and was next met with a map of where Leland was last seen. He was spotted about 15 miles west of Zara, Yugoslavia (now Croatia.) Leland radioed to his wingmen, 2nd Lt. Yenwith Whitney and 1st Lt. Jimmy Lanham, that he was “Sack timing solo” and did not require assistance. The later information came from the next two pages in the MACR, witness statements from those who flew with him that day. As I turned to the last page of the MACR package, sent to me by the AFHRA, my heart skipped a beat. The final page, a summary of Leland’s MIA mission, included complete information on his airplane:

“AIRCRAFT: Type, model & series P-51B-10

AAF Serial Number: 42-106603

NICKNAME OF AIRCRAFT: Lucy Gal”

I was floored, the name Lucy Gal jumped off the page at me. The name of Leland’s wife (also listed in the MACR), this name had such a strong tone to it, a tone that lent itself nicely to a project to honor our local Tuskegee Airman. I now had (almost) all the pieces of the puzzle that was Leland’s disappearance, and could run forward with a project to keep his story flying.

Within a week of receiving Leland’s MACR, a letter from the Smithsonian showed up in my mailbox. This was perfect timing, as the envelope contained more information about the airplane I had just learned the name of, Lucy Gal. The National Air & Space Museum had managed to locate the Aircraft Record Card for P-51B-10NA #42-106603. I now had more background on the airframe that Flight Officer Pennington had flown, just a mere week after learning the Mustang’s name. Assigned the Contract #AC-03479, the P-51 that would eventually become ‘Lucy Gal’ was kept stateside until March of 1944. She was sent overseas to serve with the 301st Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group, the Tuskegee Airmen.

There was no going back, now. I had to do it. I had to somehow acquire a P-51 Mustang, and restore it as Lucy Gal, as a flying tribute to F/O Leland Pennington. I initially thought that it would be feasible to organize a search party over in Croatia, and search for the original ‘Lucy Gal.’ In the days just preceding the rise of Reddit and Facebook “Groups” feature,  I leaned on online forums focused on WWII aircraft (such as Warbird Information Exchange, aka “WIX”) as a means to express my desire to make this dream a reality. As luck would have it, I found favorable support for my proposal, and made a contact over in Croatia whose hobby it was to search for WWII aircraft wrecks. Nothing has come of this connection, but we do keep in touch to this day.

As luck would have it, right as I began learning more about Leland, Lucy Gal, and their final mission, the feature film Red Tails was slated for an upcoming release. The timing was perfect, as it allowed me to “piggyback” on the hype of the upcoming film and promote my effort, the P-51 Lucy Gal Project. I hit social media hard and promoted everything I had learned and planned to do. I connected with Red Tails production company Lucasfilms, and various actors from the movie through my efforts. As a result, my project was shared by their social media pages, via Facebook, Twitter re-tweets and agency newsletter highlights.

I was asked to write an article for Air Classics about my plan, and was interviewed by various local media outlets as the movie’s release date drew nearer. Leland was becoming a rock star of sorts. The highlight of all this was being invited to set-up an information table and donation jar (or, donation bomb) at the local cinema on Red Tails’ release day. I was interviewed on television by the local news prior to that night, and as a result, did very well in raising awareness. The benefits from the networking I did, and the connections I made, still benefit me and the project today.

As the hype of the Red Tails release began to dwindle, in the weeks that followed the films’ release, I began to focus my efforts on learning more about Leland Pennington, the person. I wanted to go beyond his military service, to get to know who he really was and his background. As I mentioned earlier, I had a little bit of info from his buddy, and fellow Tuskegee Airman, Charlie Price. But, I still craved more. I began to take trips to the Rochester, NY City Library, scouring their records for anything I could find with his name. I managed to turn up some images from his Monroe High School yearbooks, including photos from his athletic endeavors. I also unearthed a poem he wrote as part of the school’s Aviation Club, titled “God Is My Copilot.”

Akin to me opening and reading Leland’s MACR, I was shook to the core by this poem. Goosebumps immediately awoke on my skin. It was like Leland was jumping out to me from the page, giving me ammunition to tell his story. I am still digging to find more information about the Monroe HS Aviation Club, particularly if they actually flew real aircraft or not. A colleague sent me some news article snippets from the period, mentioning airplane model competitions. But, I have a hunch that given the need for pilots in the USAAF at the time, Monroe may have been a part of the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP.) If so, I’d really like to find exactly what type of aircraft they flew in preparation for military flying. The search continues. (to be continued in part 3)

Austin Hancock

Commercial Pilot, CFI, and Museum Entrepreneur, with a subject focus on WWII Aviation. I am dedicated to building flight experience so I can fly WWII Fighters, such as the P-51 Mustang, for museums and airshows, and in the USAF Heritage Flight. I lead and run the Pennington Flight Memorial, to honor local MIA Tuskegee Airman F/O Leland “Sticky” Pennington.

• The Pennington P-51 ‘Lucy Gal’ Tuskegee Flight Memorial (Part 5)
• The Pennington P-51 ‘Lucy Gal’ Tuskegee Flight Memorial (Part 4)
• The Pennington P-51 ‘Lucy Gal’ Tuskegee Flight Memorial (Part 3)
• House of The B-23 Dragon