Bleckley Lounge renaming ceremony

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Michaela R. Slanchik
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
Last Friday, Jan. 18th, McConnell celebrated the courage and sacrifices of late U.S. Army Air Corps 2nd Lt. Erwin R. Bleckley by renaming a lounge on base in his honor.

The small, ballroom-styled room in the Robert J. Dole Center, currently named Signature’s Lounge, is used for ceremonies and other events on base. The newly named, “Bleckley Lounge,” will memorialize the World War I hero.

The Wichita native entered the military in 1917, working for the Kansas National Guard and soon became an artillery officer. Bleckley relocated to various locations throughout Belgium and France with the 50th Aero Squadron during the war.

When more than 500 American troops became surrounded by German soldiers in France, the 50th’s new mission consisted of locating and resupplying the Lost Battalion.

On Oct. 6, 1918, the 50th flew a total of 13 missions in search of the missing men. Although they didn’t know where the battalion was located exactly, each aircraft carried about 350 pounds of food and medical supplies for delivery.

Bleckley and his pilot, 1st Lt. Harold Goettler, received fire from German soldiers on the ground when they flew early that day. Despite the odds, they were able to return, safe.

After 11 other unsuccessful search missions from 50th troops throughout the day, Bleckley and Goettler volunteered to embark on their second attempt at delivering packages to the American troops – This one more hazardous than any yet. The goal was to fly lower and slower, improving odds of finding the men.

“We will make the delivery or die in the intent,” Bleckley said before he returned to his quarters to prepare for the flight.

Bleckley wrote his will about an hour before he took off.

Their DH-4 aircraft flew through a slew of bullets during the mission in France. After Goettler was killed by gunfire, Bleckley took over the flight with no formal pilot training. The plane crashed as Bleckley tried to escape the hazardous situation. The 23 year old died from his injuries shortly after, leaving behind his family and fiancée.

After the crash, maps that Bleckley had drawn were found by the French, leading to the rescue of nearly 200 men from the Lost Battalion.

Bleckley is now one of 124 Medal of Honor recipients from WWI, and one of only four native Wichitan recipients to this day.

“There is so much rich history to our own Erwin Bleckley,” said Greg Zuercher, the junior vice commander at the VFW post 112 in Wichita. “It begs to be memorialized and remembered.”

In 1932, Wichita named a street “Bleckley Drive” in honor of him. The Museum of the Kansas National Guard in Topeka holds the original Medal of Honor award writing. Now, Bleckley’s legacy is honored and will live on at McConnell with the renaming of Bleckley Lounge.

“You might think this Friday’s event is just a 30-minute ceremony where a few people will speak and we’ll have some hors d’oeuvres,” said Zuercher. “But, it’s so much more than that. This will enhance McConnell’s reputation around the world because we’re honoring our greatest aviation hero.”