Customer Helps Pratt & Whitney Employee Connect with Distant Relative's Fighter Ace Past
Pratt & Whitney employees were invited to submit stories regarding family connection to World War II. Over the course of the upcoming year, this story, along with others, will be shared to appreciate and honor those who have served and their families. This is the second in the series:
Dave Blickenstaff, signature manager, Special Programs, Military Engines, based in West Palm Beach, Florida, never knew he had a distant relative who was a World War II flying ace. It took a customer's curiosity to bring it to his attention.
"A few years ago, I was at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas, for Joint Strike Fighter meetings when an engineer there presented me with a signed photo of a WWII fighter double ace named Wayne K. Blickenstaff," Blickenstaff said. "Bill had purchased the photo on eBay and wanted to know if we were somehow related. With a last name like 'Blickenstaff,' I knew we had to be related and told him I would do some research to find out for certain."
What Blickenstaff discovered was that he and Wayne did share a relationship going back to the 1800s. "I'm a distant cousin of some kind, although I'm still trying to figure out the genealogy," he added.
Before Wayne Blickenstaff died in 2011, he provided a written account of shooting down four Focke-Wulf 190 fighters in one day, followed a few months later with downing a Messerschmitt Me-262 fighter, which made him an ace (as an aside, Focke-Wulf is a predecessor company to today's Airbus Group). "Shooting down the Me-262 couldn't have been easy since it was one of Germany's first operational jet fighters, much faster than Wayne's P-51 with a piston engine," Blickenstaff said.
Just over a month later, he shot down three more Focke-Wulf 190s, along with two Messerschmitt BF-109s in one day, making him a double ace as well as an ace in a day. The war ended shortly thereafter with Blickenstaff reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel as part of the 350th Fighter Squadron/353rd Fighter Group. For his exploits, he received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters and the Air Medal with seven oak leaf clusters. By Wayne's own account, he finished with 133 missions and 457 combat hours. He added, "I was one of many who happened to be the right age at the right time to be involved in that war."
Dave Blickenstaff noted that Wayne's accomplishments were nearly identical to those of famed ace and future test pilot Chuck Yeager, who was also a P-51 ace in a day. He added that Wayne had attended art school before entering the service and, following the war, went back to being an illustrator.
"In 2014, I went to a meeting at Wright Patterson Air Force Base that ended mid-day so I had time to visit the Air Force Museum there," Blickenstaff said. "I came across an Me-262 airplane. Behind it was the 'Wall of Honor' for the 350th Fighter Squadron where I found my last name and Wayne's photo, the same one I had been given by my Lockheed contact. It was very cool to see my name up there. Wayne Blickenstaff may be a distant cousin but he's still in my family. It gave me a certain level of pride. It's been moving to discover I have a connection to a WWII ace and have aviation as something in common with him. It was an exciting experience to learn about Wayne and his service to our country."
Blickenstaff is so proud of his connection to Wayne that he put together a memorial of him that he's shown with his customized Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 at an annual Florida auto show that also showcases P-51 Mustangs. "It's my way of continuing to share his legacy," he said.
To read more about Wayne Blickenstaff's firsthand accounts, click here.
