White Plains' Pantanelli shares CAP's Gold Medal

• Her association with the Civil Air Patrol started after she graduated from Scarsdale High in 1943

WHITE PLAINS – There weren't many ways a young woman could help defend her country when Johnnie Pantanelli graduated from Scarsdale High School in 1943.

So she joined one of the few organizations that welcomed women during World War II: the Civil Air Patrol.

Now, more than 71 years later, the motorcycle-riding great-grandmother is still a member. And the CAP colonel's wartime service has been recognized with a share of the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor from the U.S. House of Representatives.

"It's quite an honor and a privilege," the White Plains resident said Tuesday after she was feted at a weekend ceremony at Lake George.

The Gold Medal honors CAP's World War II volunteers for helping to protect the country. Congress approved the medal for the organization and the design for it was revealed in December; CAP is now issuing replicas to eligible veterans across the country. According to its website, there are 327 confirmed eligible Gold Medal awardees nationwide, 10 in New York.

For Pantanelli, her service has been just one part of a life of adventure. Her motorcycle license is current, but at 91 she doesn't ride much anymore. Her pilot's license has lapsed after many years of flying. And even though she's decades past the age when most people retire, she's still working at Swing Staging, a Long Island City company she and her husband founded.

She has a son, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Pantanelli's association with CAP, which conducts search-and-rescue missions, offers aerospace education and prepares young people for military and civilian careers, started as a way to serve her country. After joining, she served as a wartime aircrew observer.

"I wanted to do something to help," she said.

She dreamed of being an aeronautical engineer, an unusual goal for women in the 1940s. Pantanelli also joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 1945, serving briefly until World War II ended.

"I wanted to stay in," she recalled, "but they said, 'Thank you, ladies, for your service. We don't need you any more. The guys are coming home.'"

She continued with CAP instead. Over the years she has mentored hundreds of young men and woman who joined the organization (which was founded a week before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor), and the local division that now bears her name.

"She has made a difference in the lives of so many kids," said Ed Miraglia of Somers, deputy commander of the Col. Johnnie Pantanelli Composite Squadron NY-238. "She says, all the time, 'These kids are our leaders of the future.' "

Pantanelli rarely misses a Wednesday night squadron meeting and attends most of the group's events.

"She is unbelievably dedicated," Miraglia said. "Everybody loves her."

Pantanelli said that watching cadets grow and accomplish things in their own lives has been her greatest reward.

"They come back after they've been out in the world and done all kinds of things and they say, 'Thank you for helping me,' " she said.

Twitter: @JaneLernerNY

For information on joining the Civil Air Patrol click here.