VETERANS DAY WAS THE SETTING FOR A SPECIAL CELEBRATION AT SIOUXLAND FREEDOM PARK IN SOUTH SIOUX CITY.
FOLLOWING THE TRADITIONAL VETERANS DAY OBSERVANCE AT THE PARK’S VIETNAM WALL, THE OFFICIAL RIBBON CUTTING FOR THE NEWLY COMPLETED INTERPRETIVE CENTER TOOK PLACE. THE BUILDING IS NAMED AFTER SIOUX CITY’S BEST KNOWN MILITARY HERO, BRIGADIER GENERAL BUD DAY AND HIS WIFE DORIS.
DAY’S SON GEORGE JR. AND HIS DAUGHTER SANDRA WERE AT THE CEREMONY HONORING THEIR PARENTS:
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BUD DAY RECEIVED THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR FOR HIS SERVICE AND ENDURANCE OF SURVIVING CAPTURE AFTER BEING SHOT DOWN OVER VIETNAM AND TORTURED IN A P.O.W. CAMP, ESCAPING AND THEN BEING RECAPTURED AND TORTURED AGAIN.
HIS CHILDREN GREW UP WITHOUT HIM, BEFORE HE WAS RELEASED FROM CAPTIVITY AND RETURNED HOME WHEN THE VIETNAM WAR ENDED:
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DAY’S DAUGHTER SANDRA WORE HIS FLIGHT JACKET TO THE CEREMONY.
SHE SAYS AS SHE GREW OLDER AND HELPED HER FATHER IS WHEN SHE REALIZED WHAT HE ENDURED AS A PRISONER OF WAR IN NORTH VIETNAM:
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DAY’S SON GEORGE JR. WENT ON TO BECOME A 1985 GRADUATE OF THE AIR FORCE ACADEMY, BECAME AN F-16 FIGHTER PILOT AND LATER A PILOT FOR SOUTHWEST AIRLINES IN CIVILIAN LIFE.
