Col. Bud Day, an Air Force fighter pilot who was shot down in the Vietnam War, imprisoned with John McCain in the notorious “Hanoi Hilton” and defiantly endured more than five years of brutality without divulging sensitive information to his captors, earning him the Medal of Honor, died on Saturday in Shalimar, Fla. He was 88. His death was announced by his wife, Doris. Colonel Day was among America’s most highly decorated servicemen, having received nearly 70 medals and awards, more than 50 for combat exploits. In addition to the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, he was awarded the Air Force Cross, the highest combat award specifically for airmen. In a post on Twitter on Sunday, Senator McCain called Colonel Day “my friend, my leader, my inspiration.” When he volunteered for duty in Vietnam and was assigned to a fighter wing in April 1967, Colonel Day, then a major, had flown more than 4,500 hours in fighters. On Aug. 26, 1967, he was on a mission to knock out a surface-to-air missile site 20 miles inside North Vietnam when his F-100 was hit by antiaircraft fire. He suffered eye and back injuries and a broken arm when he ejected, and he was quickly captured. Major Day was strung upside-down by his captors, but after his bonds were loosened, he escaped after five days in enemy hands. He made it across a river, using a bamboo-log float for support, and crossed into South Vietnam. He wandered barefoot and delirious for about two weeks in search of rescuers, surviving on a few berries and frogs. At one point, he neared a Marine outpost, but members of a Communist patrol spotted him first, shot him in the leg and hand, and captured him. This time, Major Day could not escape. He was shuttled among various camps, including the prison that became known as the Hanoi Hilton, and was beaten, starved and threatened with execution. His captors demanded information on escape plans and methods of communication among the prisoners of war, as well as on America’s air war. He was released on March 14, 1973, having supplied only false information to his interrogators. He was promoted to colonel during his captivity, and on March 4, 1976, President Gerald R. Ford presented him with the Medal of Honor at a ceremony in which Admiral Stockdale was also awarded the medal. Colonel Day received the medal for his escape and evasion, brief though it was, and his refusal to yield to his tormentors. “Colonel Day was totally debilitated and unable to perform even the simplest task for himself,” the citation read. “Despite his many injuries, he continued to offer maximum resistance. His personal bravery in the face of deadly enemy pressure was significant in saving the lives of fellow aviators who were still flying against the enemy.” George Everette Day, known as Bud, was born on Feb. 24, 1925, in Sioux City, Iowa. He quit high school to join the Marines in 1942 and served with an antiaircraft battery on Johnston Island in the Pacific during World War II. In addition to his wife, Colonel Day is survived by two sons, Steven and George Jr.; two daughters, Sandra Hearn and Sonja LaJeunesse; and 14 grandchildren. Admiral Stockdale, his fellow prisoner of war, died in 2005. Looking back on the torment he endured as a prisoner, Colonel Day expressed pride over the way he and his fellow prisoners of war had conducted themselves. “As awful as it sounds, no one could say we did not do well,” he told The Associated Press in 2008. Being held prisoner “was a major issue in my life, and one that I am extremely proud of,” he said. “I was just living day to day.”
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 12:15:32 +0000
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