Colonel George “Bud” Day

On August 26, 1967, then-Major George “Bud” Day, commander of squadron of F-100s nicknamed the “Misty Super FACs,” was leading a mission over North Vietnam to locate military targets and call in air strikes on them. Suddenly, ground-fire hit his plane, destroying its hydraulic controls and forcing it into a steep dive. While Day was able to eject, he smashed into the plane’s fuselage, breaking his arm in three places.

As Major Day descended toward the ground, North Vietnamese militiamen gathered below, eager to make him their prize. Upon being captured, Day was marched to a hidden underground shelter to be interrogated. Despite treatment that would break many men, Major Day refused to talk. His captors then staged a mock execution and hung him from a rafter by his feet for several hours. Figuring that Day was too weak to attempt an escape, the North Vietnamese took little care in tying him securely. They figured wrong as on his fifth day of captivity, Day untied himself and escaped.

On the second night following his escape, Day was sleeping in thick jungle undergrowth when a nearby bomb or rocket explosion violently shook him awake, leaving him bleeding from his ears and sinuses and sending shrapnel into his leg. Despite his wounds, Major Day forced himself on toward the south for several days, eating berries and frogs, and evading enemy patrols.

Nearly two weeks later, Day heard helicopters in his vicinity and stumbled toward the sound. Realizing they were U.S. choppers evacuating a Marine unit, Day hurried to catch them. Unfortunately, he arrived just as they were leaving the landing zone. His bad luck continued, as the next day, he ran into a North Vietnamese Army patrol, which shot him in the leg and hand before capturing him and bringing him back to the very same camp from which he had previously escaped. Once again, he was subjected to more torture.

Soon, Major Day was moved to the infamous “Hanoi Hilton.” The conditions were miserable – Day suffered from malnutrition, and his wounds were untreated. He was repeatedly tortured, at one point for 48 hours without rest. Finally, the enemy believed that they had broken him, as Major Day began to talk. Once again, they were wrong, as despite being broken physically, Day had the mental strength to provide them with false information on every important question.

In February of 1971, a number of American POWs gathered for a forbidden religious service. They were suddenly interrupted by enraged enemy guards, who burst into the service with rifles pointed at the prisoners. At that moment, one of the prisoners stood, staring directly into the muzzles of the enemy rifles, and began to sing. The song was the Star-Spangled Banner, and the man was Bud Day. One by one, the other prisoners stood, joining in the anthem to freedom, their bodies broken, but their spirits strong.

George “Bud” Day was released on March 14, 1973. Three years later, along with fellow POW James Stockdale, he was presented with the Medal of Honor by Gerald Ford. Colonel Day saw extensive service in World War II, and later served in Korea. He is the most decorated living American soldier.