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June 09, 2006
Air Force Hero To Defend Accused Marines
Honored Veteran Takes Lead Defense Position
by Senior Correspondent Kevin R.C. "Hognose" O'Brien
Aero-News has learned that USAF Col (Retired) George Everett "Bud" Day MOH, one of the most highly decorated veterans of the Vietnam War, or of US history for that matter, has undertaken to defend "up to 20" Marines who have been accused of crimes up to and including murder in connection with an alleged massacre in Haditha, Iraq.
Col. Day is a veteran, peculiarly enough, of World War II as a Marine, and later of the Army, and then of Korea and Vietnam in the United States Air Force. In Vietnam, he started and led the Misty Super FAC program, which includes among its old boys Dick Rutan and several other aviation luminaries. In a tradition begun by Day, each Misty pilot had a unique numbered callsign beginning, of course, with Misty 1 (Day, of course; Rutan was Misty 40).
Day was marked for success in the Air Force early in his flying career, when he made a "no-chute" ejection from a doomed F-84F and survived. "I bailed out of a burning F-84 in 1957 in England," he wrote in response to an enquiry from the Free Fall Research Page. "My parachute did not open, but lucky for me I landed in the Queen's forest, and the riser cords of the chute wove in and out of the pine tree I fell in. I bailed out between 300 and 500 feet and lived."On August 24, 1967, then-Major Day was breaking in a new pilot on F-100F "Misty" "fast FAC" duty in the southern reaches of North Vietnam. He was instructing pilot Corwin Kippenham on how best to approach the target, a missile site, when their aircraft was hit. At over 500 knots it became a fireball.
Day ejected, followed by Kippenham, and they landed in North Vietnam near the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam. Day had a broken arm -- broken in three places -- and a dislocated knee, and the North Vietnamese grabbed him only a mile or so from where Kippenham boarded a helicopter to safety. Later Day escaped, only to be wounded by US fire when he slept too near an enemy artillery site, and ultimately recaptured after being wounded yet again.
In almost six years of captivity, Day endured unspeakable tortures, and, his fellow captives recall, drove his captors wild. In one case he responded to them by singing "the Star Spangled Banner," which earned him a particularly violent beating -- as the other prisoners all joined in, and the guards saw it as a loss of face.
There's no official list of most highly decorated veterans, but Day and Army Colonel Bob Howard are more or less tied for the top title. There was a more highly decorated veteran in World War II, though: Douglas Macarthur. In all, Day has a staggering 70 awards and decorations, not to mention such post-service honors as having the Sioux City Airport named after him.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1977, Bud Day put his long-dormant law degree to work and he has been a lawyer and an activist for veterans ever since. He has not always won, but government attorneys have come to fear him almost as much as the North Vietnamese prison guards did.
These days, the old warrior even sees a rosy side to his bleak years of captivity: "Freedom has a special taste!" His legal record is a formidable as his military record; he has frequently argued appellate cases, and has taken cases to the Supreme Court and argued them there.
While there has been much reaction to probable charges in the Haditha case, no details have been released, charges laid, nor defendants named by officialdom -- yet. But the defendants, whoever they may be -- and we hadn't heard numbers like "20" before -- will not lack effective counsel.
Wild Thing's comment.....
Thank you Col. Day, I believe in our Marines and all of our troops too! God Bless you Sir! God bless and keep our troops safe!
Posted by Wild Thing at June 9, 2006 02:05 AM
Comments
Thank God those Marines have an advocate, unlike Second Lieutenant Ilario Pantano who was tried in the press and poorly defended by the Marine Corps. which appeared out to make him into a scapegoat.
Quite a contrast to Kerry and Murtha, Col. Day has always been a stand up hero that hasn't forgotten that guerilla war involves irregulars and civilian enemy combatants. One would think that the 'esteemed' Senator from Arizona would at least make a minimal statement to Murtha to tone his rhetoric down, but he's to awestruck by the about prospect of becoming the next Democrat president to jeapordize his own hero status.
I wish those Marines all the best and hope that Col. Day can successfully defend them, because they have already been judged by the MSM and the lefties who view anyone in the military as criminals.
Posted by: Jack at June 9, 2006 06:58 AM
Col Day is far more representative of the dignity, pride and honesty of the average Vietnam vet than the egotism, greed and back stabbing of Murtha, McCain or Kerry. So, who gets all the attention from the MSM!
I hope that as this trial unfolds the press is at least honest with the public as they present Col Day. Of course, they may just ignore him also which would be an injust, and typical.
God Bless Col Day!
Posted by: TomR at June 9, 2006 11:06 AM
TomR, men of high moral character and integrity never get positive attention from the MSM.
Posted by: BobF at June 9, 2006 11:14 AM
I agree Jack, they sure have already been judged by the MSM and the lefties.
Posted by: Wild Thing at June 9, 2006 06:45 PM
Tom I agree completely! Well said!
"Col Day is far more representative of the dignity, pride and honesty of the average Vietnam vet than the egotism, greed and back stabbing of Murtha, McCain or Kerry."
Posted by: Wild Thing at June 9, 2006 07:05 PM
