You see, Sunday was Veteran's Day. As with all Sunday's I spent the day at the USO. Each service member I meet is a hero. But just as I was about to leave this past Sunday, he walked in. "He" is Col. George "Bud" Day, USAF (Ret.).
Colonel Day joined the military as an United States Marine after begging for his parents permission at age 17. That was during WWII. Col. Day later served as a combat pilot in the Korean War. Finally, the Colonel served in Vietnam.
"It" happened on 26 August 1967. Col. Day was flying a mission and his plane was hit by Viet Cong ground fire. He ejected but as he was doing so, his right arm slammed into the fuselage breaking it in THREE places. I hate to admit it, but I would probably just curl up and hope for the best at the time. That is what makes Col. Day different. The VC militiamen saw him coming down via parachute. He was captured. They did a mock execution and hung him upside down after he refused to answer questions regarding the US mission. This occurred for several hours. Again, many of us would just give up then. Not the Colonel.
The Colonel caught a "break" when the teenage guards tied a knot loosely . FIVE days later, he ESCAPED!!
Sadly, the good news was short lived for him. On his second night of "freedom" a bomb went off near him. This concussion caused bleeding from his ears and nose. Additionally, shrapnel hit his leg. Even with all that had gone awry, he hobbled south for several days eating frogs and berries. About two weeks into his escape, he heard helicopters, he made his way toward them and YES!! they were American! Sadly, he did not make it on time. He was recaptured, after being shot in the left leg. At this point, over a three week period, he suffered a broken arm, bleeding ears/nose, shrapnel wounds,and now the gun shot. My friends, his wounds were not treated, they became infected. He was now "checked-in" at the "Hanoi Hilton". Over the next FIVE + YEARS he was subjected to even more torture. He, along with Sen. John McCain, Adm. James Stockdale, and scores of other POW's were forced to eat "food" that was mixed with human and animal waste.
Years passed, still in captivity in 1971, he along with other POW's were holding a forbidden Christian religious service. The Vietcong burst into the room, guns drawn. One was in Col. Day's face. What did he do?
HE SANG THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER!!!! As he was doing this, the others in his holding area began to sing along. Soon, many of the men were singing patriotic songs for quite a period of time. Despite all he endured, his love for the United States remained steadfast.
He was released on 14 March 1973. In 1976, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He is currently the most highly decorated living member of the military.
Here are his decorations:
CMoH
Air Force Cross
Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Multiple Bronze Stars
Purple Hearts
etc.
70 ribbons and medals in all, 50 for battle.
I thank God that he survived those years. I can't complain about ANYTHING. Yes, I was bummed that Ohio State lost on Saturday, that the Cowboys won the next day, etc. but nothing that I can fathom comes close to comparing.
http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,MoH_George_Day,00.html http://www.afa.org/magazine/dec2005/1205day.asp
*After I met the Colonel, I was telling his amazing story to my 4 and 6 year old nephews, Andrew and Ryan. I made it thru about 95 percent of it, but for some reason...when I got to the part about our beloved Star Spangled Banner, I weeped. Would you have done the same? Or have you already?
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