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Bud Day: Vietnam War POW HeroBy Richard C. Barrett | Vietnam | 12 comments | Print This Post | Email This Post Despite being a Medal of Honor recipient and one of the most experienced fighter pilots in the Air Force, Day never did receive a promotion to brigadier general. Pondering that topic later, he noted, “That was pretty strange.” Subscribe Today
Day retired from the Air Force in the spring of 1977 and returned to the practice of law. The only U.S. Air Force pilot with a law degree at the time, Day took the Florida bar exam while he was still on active duty. Never one to sit on the sidelines of a good fight, he eventually found himself spearheading a huge class action suit against his former employer, the U.S. government. It began one day in 1995, when Day sought medical treatment at Eglin Air Force Base, where he had been treated many times since his retirement. This time, he was told that the rules for retirees had changed and that he should apply for Medicare instead. Outraged at what he considered a broken promise, he filed a lawsuit in 1996 on behalf of a group of retirees. Through the process of that suit, Day managed to get the government to admit that lifetime medical care had indeed been promised to military retirees, up to as recently as the military recruiting literature of the early 1990s. The government, however, countered that the promise had been made without legal authority. In 2001 a federal court ruled that the government had broken a legally binding promise, but the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned that ruling the following year. In June 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. Day’s health care battle was not fought entirely in vain, however. Reacting to appeals from various veterans’ groups and the pressures of Day’s legal actions, the government finally introduced the Tricare for Life program for military retirees. Although short of the original promises, the new program is a substantial improvement over the previous policy of dumping military retirees into the Medicare system. Despite his clash with the government, Day still endorses military service. To today’s young soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines he says: “You have the greatest job given to you as a young man: to serve your country. It’s the single best calling for a young person.” Vietnam and its legacy are never far from Day’s thoughts. He heads up a group of Vietnam veterans who are frustrated with the lack of public understanding of the war and the negative image of those who served there. The mission of the recently established Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation (www.vvlf.org) is to inform Americans about what really happened in Vietnam. When asked whether people care anymore about a war that’s been over for more than 30 years, Day replied: “The false history of Vietnam has been used to demoralize our troops in combat, undermine the public’s confidence in U.S. foreign policy, and weaken our national security. Radical leftists, such as Jane Fonda, lied about the war 35 years ago, and are still lying about it today. The goal of the VVLF is to continue the work of countering more than three decades of misinformation and propaganda, and to set the record straight.” Almost 35 years after his release from North Vietnam’s inhumane prisons, Bud Day is still serving his country. Richard C. Barrett writes from Washington, D.C. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1966 to 1971, including a tour in Vietnam in 1966-67. For additional reading, see: Duty, Honor, Country, by George Day; and American Patriot: The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day, by Robert Coram. This article was written by Richard C. Barrett and originally published in the June 2007 issue of Vietnam Magazine. For more great articles, subscribe to Vietnam magazine today! Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to
            Tags: Historical Figures, Vietnam War
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12 Comments to “Bud Day: Vietnam War POW Hero”
I’m very impressed with the service of Col Day.
I would like to be in contact with Col. Day, I am a disabled veteran, getting the run around from the VA. i can be contacted at:qsno@juno.com.
By MichaelN. Perrt,Sr on Jul 12, 2008 at 9:44 pm
I have followed Col. Day’s life through talks at his church in Shalimar, FL, and through his book. He IS the man you read about in the book-genuine. People with integrity are what give us kids the endurance to wait for our dads to come home from war, and to understand that patriotism, courage, faith are keys to overcoming obstacles, and the reward for our patience. Col. Day is just as genuine today as history records. It is an honor to know someone who does not sacrifice commitment for self.
By L Smith on Aug 6, 2008 at 9:33 pm
I assume thats because you never met Col. Ted W. Guy. Sometimes real hero’s never receive the recognition they deserve.
—————
As Senator Bob Smith stated:
His leadership and guidance helped his fellow POWs survive their ordeal. Many of them referred to themselves as “Hawk’s Heroes” in honor of Ted Guy.
To the code of conduct, Ted added his own personal code that consisted of two points. The first point was to resist until unable to resist any longer before doing anything to embarrass his family or country. The second point was to accept death before losing his honor.
Ted once said “honor is something that once you lose it you become like an insect in the jungle. You prey upon others and others prey upon you until there is nothing left. Once you lose your honor, all the gold in the world is useless in your attempt to regain it.”
Col.. we surely do miss you.
http://www.soft-vision.com/we-remember
By Joe OLiver on Aug 13, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Ted Guy was tortured during January/February 1972 [only 14 months before all of our POWs were returned home]. The torture chamber was filthy. For the first three days and nights Guy was allowed no sleep. He was stripped naked, locked in leg irons, and made to lie on his stomach. A guard stood on the backs of his legs, Cheese kept a foot on his neck, pinning his head to the floor, and another guard flogged him with a rubber hose. The beating lasted a long time. Guy lost control of his bodily functions, he vomited, and when the pain became more than he could bear, he screamed. Rags were crammed into his mouth and the flogging continued.”
“In the long days and nights that followed, torture guards who enjoyed their work took turns inflicting long beatings with their fists … During one stretch Guy was kept kneeling for approximately eighteen hours. His knees were swollen to the extent that he could not pull his trouser legs over them. When he refused to author a confession of crimes, he was made to kneel again, this time atop an iron bar…The torture ended for Guy when after ten days and nights, he produced an acceptable confession, an apology, and an agreement to do anything that was asked of him. Then he was asked to write a letter of ’solidarity’ and encouragement to the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. When he balked at this, he was ordered back onto his knees and offered another round of torture. Unable to tolerate the prospect, he yielded…Although Ted Guy did not receive the most brutal torture dished out by the North Vietnamese – such as that recorded at the Zoo by the Cubans – he withstood brutal torture for much longer than the average at one of the most brutal camps, such as the Briarpatch.” Although not a Medal of Honor winner, it appears that Ted Guy and James Stockdale had parallel experiences in Hanoi.
By Joe OLiver on Aug 13, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Why is there no mention of the 30 odd anti-American films made by McCain?
By Gene Ward on Sep 16, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Hello Gene Ward.
I would like proof to the statement that you said, ‘Why is there no
mention of the 30 odd anti-American films made by McCain?’
I would like proof. How could you dishonor such an amazing man?
What has this country come to?
By Cheyenne W on Nov 15, 2008 at 10:57 pm
If there is anyway to contact Bud Day, i would like that
information too, if possible. He is an american hero to me, and I
would like to tell him so.
By Cheyenne W on Nov 15, 2008 at 11:02 pm
I tryed to go to the Foundations web site to find out more, but it seems that the link or web site is gone. Does anyone know how to find out more or how to get to the web site?
By rorie little on Feb 16, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I must say, I am truely touched and amazed by the strength of these men. I am a 100% disabled veteran with a rare nerve disease. And what they have endured nerve wise very few understand the true depth of pain it can cause. I can’t begin to imagine what they suffered both physically and mentally. They are and always will be my hero’s.
God Bless You,
Robin
By Robin Mueller on Jun 4, 2009 at 1:54 am