A Sioux City war hero who is among the most decorated military men in American history has been posthumously honored by the United States Air Force.
Medal of Honor recipient Colonel George “Bud” Day was advanced to the rank of brigadier general during an event at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Virginia on June 8th.
Day was an Air Force fighter pilot who was shot down in the Vietnam War and served in World War Two, Korea and Vietnam.
He earned 70 decorations, including the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Air Force Cross.
Captain Jeremy McClure of Sioux City’s 185th Air National Guard says Bud Day’s service and sacrifice is revered throughout the Air Force.
McClure is currently attending training at Maxwell Air Force Base and says there are tributes to former Colonel Day there:
OC………..air force as well. :26
While flying a mission over North Vietnam in 1967, Day was shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese.
Day suffered a dislocated knee and an arm broken in three places, but managed to escape captivity and evade the enemy for two weeks, the only prisoner to actually escape from North Vietnam.
Day was just two miles from a U.S. Marine Corps base when he was shot and recaptured by a Viet Cong patrol.
He endured a brutal, 67-month imprisonment that finally ended in repatriation in March of 1973 when he was reunited with his wife and four children at March Air Force Base in California.
OC……..Day’s a legend. :20
The landing area at Sioux Gateway Airport is named “Bud Day Field” in his honor.
The posthumous advancement of Day was introduced by Senator John McCain, a fellow P-O-W with Day in North Vietnam.
