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Maj. George E. "Bud" Day receives the Medal of Honor from President Gerald R. Ford. History spotlight graphic, U.S. Air Force graphic
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Maj. George E. Day
Posted 1/15/2009
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On Aug. 26, 1967, the North Vietnamese captured Maj. George E. "Bud" Day, a downed F-100 Super Sabre pilot who was severely wounded. He was taken to a prison camp where he was interrogated and tortured. Days later, Major Day became the only known American to escape into South Vietnam after being captured in the north. Within two miles of freedom, he was re-captured by the Viet Cong. He wouldn't know freedom again for 5 1/2 years. For his bravery, he received the Medal of Honor.
Perhaps the only stroke of fortune for him that day was that his parachute opened. Upon reaching the ground he was immediately captured and severely beaten. The torture continued for two days during most of which Day was hung upside down with ropes. So severe were his injuries and so swollen was his left knee that Day's captors considered him incapable of resistance or escape and only loosely bound him for three more days in a damp cave. On the sixth night Day escaped. Barefoot and injured he traveled south for two days, both feet repeatedly cut by sharp rocks and battle debris. Later he would recount the sounds of his pursuers and their dogs all around him day and night, but through great will to survive he managed to stay one step ahead of them.
On his second night of freedom, unable to continue without rest, the 41-year-old pilot sought refuge under a bush. His fitful sleep was suddenly shattered by the nearby explosion of a rocket or bomb, he never knew which. The detonation was so close it threw his body into the air and ruptured his eardrums and sinuses. Shrapnel ripped into his right leg cutting large, open wounds. Disoriented and with no equilibrium, he languished in the brush for two more days. Then he resumed his trek south to what he hoped would be freedom.
For several days meager meals of berries, as well as two frogs, provided the sustenance he needed to continue. After more than a week of struggle Day finally reached the Ben Hai River marking the boundaries of the Demilitarized Zone. Hiding from enemy patrols during the day, he left the cover of jungle that night and used a bamboo log to float across the river and into "no-man's-land." For another week he avoided enemy patrols and several times came close to attracting the attention of American helicopters and reconnaissance airplanes. With unbelievable strength of character he continued south in hopes of reaching an American patrol that had ventured into the zone.
Somewhere between his 12th to 15th day of escape he began to hear the nearby sounds of American artillery and helicopters. During the darkness of night he continued until the basecamp was in sight. Not wanting to approach the friendly camp during the darkness that might make the defenders mistake him for an enemy, Day lay down in the jungle to await dawn. Shortly before the sun arose to afford him rescue he looked up to see a North Vietnamese soldier pointing an AK-47 rifle at him. Attempting to escape yet again, Day was shot in his left hand and thigh. A day and a half later he was recaptured and returned to his original prison camp.
Refused medical treatment, Day's gunshot wounds festered and became infected. He was tortured for 48 hours without rest before the enemy finally believed they had broken his will. Day had answered their questions. What they didn't realize was that the man who appeared so broken on the outside had answered every important question with false information. Two months later, totally destroyed physically, Day was sent north to the infamous Hoa Lo or "Hanoi Hilton" prison camp, where further torture continued.
Conditions at the "Hanoi Hilton" were barbaric. American prisoners faced isolation, humiliation and torture that lasted for year after year.
In February 1971 several American prisoners at the prison camp gathered for a forbidden religious service. Suddenly they were interrupted by the enraged enemy guards. As the guards burst into the meeting room with rifles pointed at the prisoners, one of the Americans stood to his feet. Ragged, battered but unbroken, it was George Day. Looking into the muzzles of the enemy rifles he began to sing. The song was the national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner." Next to him another prisoner stood. Commander James B. Stockdale was the ranking American in the prison and he added his voice to Day's anthem of freedom. Other prisoners joined the refrain, and then from throughout the entire prison camp, came the sounds of others. Stockdale, who would join "Bud" Day in receiving Medals of Honor five years later wrote that, although he was punished for the episode, it was exhilarating: "Our minds were now free and we knew it."
Day was born in Sioux City, Iowa, February 1925. He attended Central High School in Sioux City. He earned his bachelor's degree and a Doctor of Humane Letters from Morningside College in Sioux City. He was awarded a Master of Arts degree from St. Louis University, a Juris Doctor from the University of South Dakota and a Doctor of Laws from Troy State University. He was admitted to the South Dakota Bar in 1949 and in Florida Bar in 1977.
Day joined the Marine Corps in 1942 and served 30 months in the South Pacific as a noncommissioned officer. He received an appointment as a second lieutenant in the National Guard in 1950. He was called to active duty in the Air Force in 1951 and entered pilot training. While serving in England, Day is also credited with living through the first "no chute" bailout from a burning jet fighter in 1955. He served two tours in the Far East as a fighter-bomber pilot during the Korean War.
In April 1967, Colonel Day was assigned to the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing at Tuy Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam. He later moved to Phu Cat Air Base where he organized and became the first commander of the "Misty Super FACs (Forward Air Controllers)," an F-100 squadron.
At the time of his shoot-down, Colonel Day was one of the nation's most experienced jet fighter pilots, with 4,500 hours of single engine jet time, and more than 5,000 hours of flying time.
Day holds nearly 70 military decorations and awards, of which more than 50 are for combat. Most notable are: the Medal of Honor, the Air Force Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with nine oak leaf clusters, the Bronze Star for Valor with two oak leaf clusters, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart with three clusters. Colonel Day was presented Vietnam's highest medal by their president, two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses, and Vietnamese Wings. He also wears 12 Campaign Battle Stars.
He was released from the prison camp March 14, 1973. Three days later Day was reunited with his wife and four children at March Air Force Base, Calif. After a short recuperative period, Day was returned to active flying status. He retired from active duty in 1977.
Following his retirement, Day wrote an autobiography, "Return with Honor," detailing his suffering as a captive in Vietnam. On March 14, 1997, the new Survival School Building at Fairchild AFB, Wash., was named in his honor. |
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