Retired Air Force Colonels Bob Gates, left, and Bud Day pose for a photograph Feb. 24, 2013 while celebrating Day's 88th birthday at the Magnolia Grill in Fort Walton Beach.
Posted on 07/28/2013 8:13:17 AM PDT by kristinn
Retired Air Force Colonel Bud Day, a celebrated war hero and veteran's activist, died Saturday. He was 88.
Day, a Medal of Honor recipient, was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than five years. He also received the Purple Heart.
William Everett, regional commander for the Military Order of the Purple Heart, said Day was very giving of his free time, attending military ceremonies until his health no longer allowed him to. One of his last appearances was at his own birthday celebration Feb. 24.
"Very, very sad," Everett said, of hearing about Day's death Saturday morning. "It's a very sad moment."
In an email Everett circulated to contacts and members of the MOPH, Everett said the funeral was expected to be Thursday with burial at Barancas National Memorial Cemetery in Pensacola. More details about arrangements were expected to be released Monday, Everett said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nwfdailynews.com ...
We will not forget your tremendous life and legacy. Thank you.
Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth ping.
Thank you for your service Colonel. You were an amazing individual.
God rest his brave soul
One of the good guys
Honored to have not 1 but 2 true American heroes at Co-op Managers Mtg today: POW survivors Charlie Plumb & Bud Day
I remember that he appeared on a few of the military channel episodes.
A true gentleman and gentle man.
He has “slipped the surly bonds of Earth”
God speed!
Thanks for the notice, Kristinn.
All interested, please skim this piece:
http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/d/d051.htm
Served:
WWII
Korean War
Vietnam War
Awards:
Medal of Honor
Air Force Cross
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross
Bronze Star (4) with Combat "V"
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Purple Heart (4)
Air Medal (10)
Prisoner of War Medal
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
Subject: A Message from MOH Recipient Col. Bud Day
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1906706/posts
Being outside of Montgomery, Alabama, and the last base I was stationed at was Maxwell, AFB, and as Maxwell is the home of Air University; Colonel Day would often attend the annual Gathering of Eagles event that AU put on.
I've seen and spoken to the good Colonel. He is one of my true heroes!
Sir, I salute you, and morn your passing! Fly up to God now, Sir! "Eagles up!"
More on Col. Day:
http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=16
My dad was flying the F-105 over North Vietnam when Day was shot down. Every time a pilot went down, regardless of the home base, the news traveled fast. RIP Col., say hello to my dad and all the other heroes who have taken their final flight west. Two nickels on the ground. One for Col. Day and one for Col. Dad.
Yes, thanks, NN.
Also the account of his time in “Jail” in NVN.
George E. “Bud” Day
Colonel George E. “Bud” Day was born in Iowa in 1925. He is America's most highly decorated living soldier, and the most highly decorated since General Douglas MacArthur. In a military career spanning 34 years and three wars, Day received seventy decorations, more than fifty of them for combat. They include the Congressional Medal of Honor. Day started his military career as a Marine enlisted man in 1942 and served 30 months in the South Pacific during World War II. Returning home, he entered college, studied law, and passed the bar examination in 1949. In 1950, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Iowa National Guard. He joined the Air Force in 1951 and completed pilot training later that year. He then served two tours in the Far East as a fighter-bomber pilot during the Korean War, flying F-84s.
Day also earned the distinction, while stationed in England, of living through the first no-parachute bailout from a burning fighter. Recognition of his experience and abilities led to his selection as the initial commander of the 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron, the first “Misty” Super FAC unit. In F-100Fs, he and his men flew missions over North Vietnam, finding and marking targets for other fighter-bombers to strike. The Misty squadron flew one of the most dangerous missions of the Vietnam War. In Day's case, his accumulation of over 5000 hours of flying time and 4500 hours of single-engine jet time came to an abrupt halt while on a mission in the back seat of an F-100F, checking out a new Misty pilot.
On 26 August 1967, Day was shot down over North Vietnam. Following his ejection, the North Vietnamese captured him. Despite serious injuries, he managed to escape his captors and evade through the Demilitarized Zone back into South Vietnam. Within sight of friendly aircraft, the enemy recaptured him. He was then returned to the North, where he was imprisoned. He is the only prisoner ever to escape from North Vietnam and return all the way through the Demilitarized Zone to South Vietnam. Thus, he began a 67-month ordeal that would end only when he was released from captivity. On 14 March 1973, Day left Vietnam in a C-141, and, with his fellow POWs, returned to freedom. In short order, he was reunited with his wife and four children in the United States. After a short recuperative period, Day was returned to active flying status. Colonel Day retired from active duty in 1977. He now travels and lectures to civilian and military audiences about the war, their POW experiences, and his book, Return with Honor.
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