Most highly decorated living veteran to speak at library

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephanie Jacobs
  • 1st SOW Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  Retired Col. George "Bud" Day, a 34-year military veteran, was a prisoner-of-war. He received nearly 70 military decorations and awards, more than 50 of which were for combat valor. The most notable of his award is the Congressional Medal of Honor, presented to him by President Gerald Ford.

And at 2 p.m. May 7, he will tell his inspirational story at the base library.

Colonel Day was born Feb. 24, 1925, in Sioux City, Iowa. He served 30 months in the South Pacific during World War II as an enlisted member of the Marine Corps.

After returning home from World War II, he attended college on the GI bill, receiving a Bachelors of Science and a Juris Doctor degree in 1949. He served as an Army Reservist and Army National Guardsman between World War II and Korea. In 1950, Colonel Day was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. He graduated from pilot training school as a jet pilot in 1952.

He spent his career flying fighters. On Aug. 26, 1967, Colonel Day's accumulation of more than 5,000 flying hours came to an abrupt halt when he was shot down over North Vietnam and was immediately captured by the North Vietnamese. Despite serious injury, he managed to escape. He navigated about 45 miles through the jungle, surviving on a few live frogs and berries. He got within a mile of the U.S. Marine base at the Con Tien in South Vietnam.

"I walked into an ambush" Colonel Day said. "They called to me to surrender, but I took off running. They shot me in the leg and hand and recaptured me."

Thus began his 67-month imprisonment that ended upon his release on March 14, 1973. Three days later, he was reunited with his wife and four children at March Air Force Base, Calif. Colonel Day retired from active duty in 1977.

Today, he lives with his wife Doris in Shalimar. He's an attorney and an active member in the community. 

For more information on the event, contact the base library at 884-6947.