FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Col Walker Melville "Bud" Mahurin ~ 22 May 2023

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[Kathy in Alaska]

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

Col. Bud Mahurin

(Info found here.)

           

Thank you to alfa6 for his suggestion of this hero!  What an incredible story this man had!  He is home now, guarding the streets of heaven.  God rest his soul.

Colonel Walker Melville "Bud" Mahurin (December 5, 1918 - May 11, 2010) was a retired officer of the United States Air Force (USAF). During World War II, while serving in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), he was a notable flying ace.

Bud Mahurin was the first American pilot to become a double ace in the European Theater and the only ace to shoot down enemy planes in both the European and Pacific Theaters and the Korean War. During World War II he was credited with 20.75 aerial victories, making him the sixth-highest American P-47 ace. He was credited with shooting down 3.5 MiG-15s in Korea, giving him a total of 24.25 aircraft destroyed in aerial combat.

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Born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Mahurin joined the U.S. Army Air Forces as an aviation cadet on September 29, 1941 after several years as an engineering student at Purdue University. Graduating from pilot training on April 29, 1942, he was subsequently assigned to the 63d Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group and deployed to England with the group in January 1943. Based at Halesworth, England, Captain Mahurin became a flight leader in the 63rd FS and began flying missions in May.

On August 17, 1943, he scored his first two aerial victories by shooting down a pair of German Focke-Wulf Fw 190s while escorting B-17 bombers as part of the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission. One of these fighters was flown by Major Wilhelm "Wutz" Galland, Gruppenkommandeur of II/JG 26, and an ace with some 55 claims to his credit. He became an ace on October 4 after shooting down three Messerschmitt Bf110s. On November 26, Mahurin shot down three more Bf-110s to become the first American pilot in the European Theater of Operations to score 10 aerial victories. His primary aircraft, P-47D-5-RE 42-8487, bore the squadron codes UN:M and was nicknamed The Spirit of Atlantic City, N.J.

Mahurin was promoted to major on March 21, 1944, and on March 27, Major Mahurin's P-47 was heavily damaged by a German Dornier Do-217 bomber he helped shoot down, forcing him to bail out. He was picked up by French Resistance forces and, two months later, returned to England. Due to his knowledge of the French Resistance, he was grounded and sent home.

In October, he again went overseas as commander of the 3rd Fighter Squadron, the combat element of the composite 3rd Air Commando Group in the Philippines. While based at Mangaldan, Luzon, in January 1945 he was credited with a kill of a Japanese bomber. Mahurin was promoted to lieutenant colonel on May 28, 1945 and became commander of the 3rd Air Commando Group in September 1945.

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In 1950, at the start of the Korean War, Mahurin was serving in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. In July 1951 he became commander of the 1st Fighter Group, training in the North American F-86 Sabre. In December he began a 90-day tour of temporary duty with the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, serving as special assistant to the wing commander, Col. Francis S. Gabreski. Mahurin transferred to the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing on March 18, 1952, to command its 4th Fighter-Interceptor Group. On May 13, 1952, while strafing ground targets, his F-86 was shot down by North Korean ground fire; after crash-landing, breaking his arm in the process, he was captured by enemy forces.

Mahurin spent 16 months in a North Korean prisoner of war (POW) camp. He endured torture that included intense questioning, solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, threats of execution, and brainwashing. While being questioned about false claims of the United States' use of biological warfare, he falsely admitted to dropping canisters of insects over North Korea. He was later released in September 1953, well after the war's end, and promoted to full Colonel. His experience in brainwashing techniques provided the U.S. with invaluable material to develop survival training courses. Nevertheless, he and other returning POWs were condemned by Senator Richard Russell, Jr. and others because of their false confessions.

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In 1956, Mahurin retired from the U.S. Air Force to accept a senior position in the aviation industry. While the Air Force attributes this to his own choice, stating that he was low on the promotion list to permanent colonel and unlikely to make general, a pilot under his command in Korea, Robert Smith, asserts that the Air Force dishonored itself by pressuring Mahurin to resign from the service as a result of political infighting over the confessions, just four years short of becoming eligible for retirement benefits.

Link to an interview with Col. Mahurin here.

More here.

Thank you, sir, for your service and sacrifice!

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

[Eagles6]

A hero and they force him out 4 years before he could collect his pension.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks, Eagle6...not a good thing for the Air Force. He was a real hero.

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ Hall of Heroes: Col Walker Melville "Bud" Mahurin ~

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[PROCON]

Hi Kathy, thanks for honoring tonight’s Hero!

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS)))

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Pro. We must remember their sacrifices.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...how did your big day go?

Time to relax?

[DesertRhino]

One of our greatest fighter aces, and the pricks in DC trashed him. Truly disgusting.

[left that other site]

The recital was terrific.

Of course, everybody made mistakes here and there, but the thing to do is to keep going.

It’s a great life-lesson.

Now I am EXHAUSTED, and will go to bed early tonight.

[dadfly]

poignant story i’ll remember. thx Kathy.

all that daring do and his own gov’t is the only enemy able to shoot him down and keep him down. sadly, it’s all so unsurprising.

RIP, hero soldier. my dad served honorably with you in Korea, who knows, maybe he repaired one of your planes. thank you and your family for a good, true, and faithful servant of We the American People.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, radu...did you get some good recovery time from Friday and Saturday?

I attacked the sticker bush for a bit. Will go do some more in a bit. And looking around, I found more bushes sprouting on the creek bank. I guess I will be cutting every day for a bit.

[The Mayor]

May 22

Tell the Story

Bible in a Year:

• 1 Chronicles 16–18
• John 7:28–53

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.

1 John 1:3

Robert Todd Lincoln, son of US president Abraham Lincoln, was present for three major events—the death of his own father as well as the assassinations of presidents James Garfield and William McKinley.

But consider that the apostle John was present at four of history’s most crucial events: the last supper of Jesus, Christ’s agony in Gethsemane, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. John knew that bearing witness to these events was the ultimate why behind his presence in these moments. In John 21:24, he wrote, “This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.”

John reaffirmed this in his letter of 1 John. He wrote, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim” (1:1). John felt a compelling duty to share his eyewitness account of Jesus. Why? “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,” he said, “so that you also may have fellowship with us” (v. 3).

The events of our lives may be surprising or mundane, but in either case God is orchestrating them so we can bear witness to Him. As we rest in the grace and wisdom of Christ, may we speak for Him in even life’s surprising moments.

Reflect & Pray

What are some of the more surprising aspects of your faith story? How will you share your story with someone who needs to hear of God’s love?

Jesus, please help me be sensitive to those times when I can share with others how much You love us.

For further study, see Gospel Conversations: Sharing the Story of Jesus.

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

This one was tough to read the ending. No way to treat a hero! What an amazing pilot he was.

Nice to see calmer weather and some sunshine up there today. A good day for a little outside time.

[radu]

I needed to recovery from all the mowing last week more than I did from the museum. LOL My back is in pretty rough shape and that sux. After the rain we had, I need to mow again this week if the weather permits. There are some rain chances but mainly for scattered showers so there’s a chance for dry days here.

Glad you managed to start on the sticker bush today. Bummer you found more though. grrrrrr They need to go too.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, DesertRhino...too true. He was a true hero.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Congratulations!!

Great Recital!!

[DesertRhino]

His book is amazing.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, dadfly....sadly you are correct. His own government was responsible.

We thank your Dad for his service to our country.