May 8 marks 70 years since the Allied victory in Europe in World War II, but memories are still strong for one veteran who almost didn’t survive the war’s end.
Merle Hancock was one of 16 million men who fought in the Second World War, and almost was one of those who didn’t make it home.
As he looks at the planes that will fly in the 70th V-E Day anniversary commemoration, Merle remembers being drafted at age 19.
"[I had] never been on an aircraft before, and let alone, hold on to a gun – that was frightening to the death," recalled Hancock.
Merle joined the 10-man crew of a B-17 plane that flew bombing runs over Germany.
"We were signed to a B-17, and from there on our life was the B-17. We slept together, we ate together, we went to town together. We didn’t do anything unless we were all together," he said.
In unheated planes flying high over enemy territory, attacked by bombs, machine guns and heavy antiaircraft fire, Merle and the crew survived 36 missions.
That all changed during their 37th mission.
"We lost 17 B-17s that day – 10 men to a ship."
Merle personally shot down three German fighter planes before parachuting out of his burning B-17.
He landed in what must have been the highest tree in Germany, he said, only to be captured and turned over to the Gestapo.
They interrogated him and sent him to Stalag Luft Camp IV – a German prisoner of war camp.
With the Allies pushing toward victory, the Germans marched the prisoners out of the camp.
"We lost about 2,000 men on that march. I call it a march – it was a walk of survival," Merle said.
The end of hostilities in Europe came May 8, 1945, after six long years of war.
Marched almost to death, Merle didn’t experience V-E Day like the rest of the world.
"The greatest thing that happened is when I was liberated, and I don’t remember joy or anything like that, I don’t remember that, probably did but maybe we were too hungry to jump," he recalled.
As Europe celebrated, Merle worried about simpler things.
"I had my first shower and my first hot meal in about a year. The shower was great and the meal was good," he said.
The U.S. military recognized Merle’s contributions with a Silver Star and a Purple Heart.
"The day the two-star general pinned [these] on me, I cried," he said. The medals were pinned on his shirt once again for the commemoration.
Of the 16 million men who went to war, about 1 million are still alive for the 70th anniversary.
US, Europe Mark 70th Anniversary of VE Day
1/16Russian army soldiers march along the Red Square during the Victory Parade marking the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi Germany in World War II, in Moscow, May 9, 2015.
2/16An unidentified Russian WWII veteran salutes as he walks, after the Victory Parade marking the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi Germany in World War II, in Red Square, Moscow, May 9, 2015.
3/16Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the Victory Parade marking the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, in Red Square, Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2015, with the St. Basil's Cathedral is in the background.
4/16Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground center, and foreign dignitaries pose for a photo after the Victory Parade marking the 70th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, at the Tomb of Unknown soldier, outside Kremlin wall, in Moscow
5/16Flowers lay on a plaque engraved with the names of Soviet casualties at a Soviet war memorial in a cemetery for killed Soviet soldiers on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, in Lebus, eastern Germany, May 8, 2015.
6/16World War II reenactors salute while the National Anthem plays during ceremony commemorating 70th Anniversary of VE Day at the National World War II Memorial, May 8, 2015, in Washington, D.C.
7/16Navy Petty Officer Kevin Smith, left, salutes WWII veteran Harold Noel, 98, who was a B-24 navigator during WWII and was shot down and imprisoned as a POW at Stalag Luft III, at the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. during a ceremony in honor of the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day), May 8, 2015,
8/16World War II vintage aircraft flyover near the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., May 8, 2015, marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, and to commemorate the Allied victory in Europe during World War II.
9/16World War II veterans and their families watch as dozens of WWII-era military airplanes fly over the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., May 8, 2015, during the Arsenal of Democracy World War II Victory Capitol Flyover to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day.
10/16Holding a World War II-era photograph of herself, WWII veteran Elizabeth Copp, 96, who was a Sergeant in the Women's Army Corps during World War II, watches as World War II aircraft fly over the World War II Memorial in Washington, May 8, 2015, in honor of the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day).
11/16A worker installing a wreath of poppies as a red peak and ribbon on top of the 102-meter Motherland Monument in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 8, 2015, to mark the anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis in WWII.
12/16U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) lays a wreath during a ceremony marking France's 70th anniversary of the allied victory over Nazi Germany, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris, France, May 8, 2015.
13/16Polish veteran military officers salute during a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, at Westerplatte, near Gdansk, Poland, May 8, 2015.
14/16Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (R) stands with former former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg (C) and former Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, as they line up to pay tribute at the Cenotaph during a Victory in Europe (VE) day ceremony in central London, May 8, 2015.
15/16Poland's President Bronislaw Komorowski (front L) and officials attend a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the end of the World War II, at the WWII Westerplatte Memorial in Gdansk, north Poland, May 8, 2015.
16/16A Soviet veteran pays his respects during a memorial ceremony on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II at the Soviet cemetery in Lebus, Germany, close to the border of Poland, May 8, 2015.
