Armed Forces Day: Ellwood City man saw the world through the Army

ELLWOOD CITY ― In 1961, when Michael Pandos of Ellwood City was 17, his mother signed so he could enlist in the Army.

It was an opportunity to see some of the world outside Shenango Township, where he was living.

In Germany, a member of the 54th Signal Battalion during the Berlin Crisis, Pandos was stationed in the mountains at secret locations as communications for the Hawk missile, a surface-to-air guided missile that provides air defense coverage against low-to-medium-altitude aircraft.

When off duty, he visited sites in Germany, including the Dachau Concentration Camp Museum.

"I could still smell that terrible smell where tens of thousands of people died," Pandos said recently.

One day he stood with a crowd of people and saw the 6'5" Charles DeGaulle standing up in a car waving at the crowd. DeGaulle was a French Army officer and statesman who led the Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II.

Pandos enjoyed the German food and recalled a schnitzel dinner was 75 cents.

"I got a three-piece custom-made suit for $9 and bought a typewriter that typed in script for$35," Pandos said. "Germany was a beautiful country and the people were friendly."

A highlight of his time in service was spending 30 days in Naples and 30 days in Paris.

When Pandos was discharged he worked a few jobs until his brother Joe urged him to take the test for the New Castle police force that had 80 officers at the time. Because there was a deep life-long bond between the brothers he took Joe's advice and was one of three who made the roster. Pandos went on to get a degree in criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

As a member of the New Castle Police Department, Pandos started out walking a beat.

"I recall walking the beats in New Castle when the method of communication with headquarters was the call boxes on telephone poles," he said.

Soon Pandos was promoted and eventually became turn sergeant and then detective sergeant. As the detective sergeant, he worked handled three homicides and worked with the prosecution on two.

"I was good at interrogations. I knew who was lying to me, and I would keep after them until they told me the truth. I owe my success to the old timers who mentored me and taught me," Pandos said.

In 1980, Pandos resigned from the police department and was hired by the state as an internal investigator for the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, and in 2004 retired after 33 years.

Pandos's wife of 49 years, Lana, died last June.

This year's national Armed Forces Day is Saturday, May 18. Residents are urged this week to recognize their family and community members who have served the nation through military service.

Those Who Served

Who: Michael Pandos

What: Army

When: 1961-64

Where: Served in Germany

Rank: Sergeant

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Those who Serve: Ellwood City man saw a different world in the Army