2011 Legends and Heroes (This list is subject to change. Last updated: 9/21/11)
Col. George E. "Bud" Day In 1942, Day enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served in the Pacific during World War II. He then served two tours as a fighter-bomber pilot during the Korean War flying the Republic F-84 Thunderjet. Day then volunteered for a tour in Vietnam and was assigned to the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing at Tuy Hoa Air Base in April 1967. At that time, he had more than 5,000 flying hours, with 4,500 of them in fighters. On June 25, 1967, with extensive previous service flying two tours in F-100s, Major Day was made the first commander of Detachment 1, 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 37th Tactical Fighter Wing based at Phu Cat Air Base. Under the project name "Commando Sabre", twin-seat USAF F-100Fs were evaluated as a Fast Forward Air Control ("Fast FAC") aircraft in high threat areas. Using the call sign "Misty", the name of Day's favorite song, his detachment of four two-seat F-100Fs and 16 pilots became pioneer "Fast FACs"over Laos and North Vietnam. On August 26, 1967, Major Day was flying an F-100 on his 65th mission into North Vietnam, directing a flight of F-105 Thunderchiefs in an air strike against a surface-to-air missile site when anti-aircraft fire crippled the aircraft, forcing the crew to eject. In the ejection, Day's right arm was broken in three places when he struck the side of the cockpit. Day was unable to contact the rescue helicopter by survival radio and was quickly captured by North Vietnamese local militia. On his fifth night of captivity when he was still within 20 miles of the Demilitarized Zone, Day escaped from his initial captors despite his serious injuries. Day crossed the DMZ back into South Vietnam, becoming the only U.S. prisoner of war to escape from North Vietnam. But within 2 miles of the U.S. Marine firebase at Con Thien and after 12–15 days of evading, he was recaptured, this time by a Viet Cong patrol. Taken back to his original camp, Day was tortured for escaping, breaking his right arm again. Day was then moved to several prison camps near Hanoi, where he was periodically beaten, starved, and tortured. In December 1967, Day shared a cell with Navy Lieutenant Commander and future Senator and Presidential Candidate John McCain. On March 14, 1973, Day was released after five years and seven months as a North Vietnamese prisoner. On March 4, 1976, President Gerald Ford awarded Day the Medal of Honor for his personal bravery while a captive in North Vietnam. At his retirement Day had nearly 8,000 total flying hours, 4,900 in single engine jets, and had flown the F-80 Shooting Star, F-84 Thunderjet, F-100 Super Sabre, F-101 Voodoo, F-104 Starfighter, F-105 Thunderchief, F-106 Delta Dart, F-4 Phantom II, A-4 Skyhawk, A-7 Corsair II, CF-5 Tiger, F-15 Eagle jet fighters.  Col. C.E. "Bud" Anderson In January 1942, Bud Anderson enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet and received his wings in September 1942. Anderson flew two combat tours against the Luftwaffe in Europe while assigned to the 363rd Fighter Squadron of the 357th Fighter Group, and was the group's third-leading ace, with 16¼ aerial victories. His P-51 Mustang, nicknamed ‘Old Crow’, carried him safely through 116 missions without being hit by enemy fire and without Anderson ever having to turn back for any reason. He returned to the United States in February 1945 as a Captain, and assumed duties as a test pilot at Wright Field and later at Edwards Air Force Base.  He served two tours at the Pentagon. He commanded the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, an F-105 Thunderchief unit, during the final months of service in the Vietnam War, and retired from the Air Force in March 1972. He was decorated twenty-five times for his service to the United States. After his retirement from active duty, he became the manager of McDonnell Aircraft Company's Flight Test facility at Edwards AFB, serving there until 1984.  With over thirty years of military service, he flew in excess of 100 types of aircraft and logged over 7,000 hours as a pilot. At 87, Bud is an active pilot, maintaining his Certified Flight Instructor Rating (CFI) and on July 19, 2008, he was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame. In 1990, Anderson co-authored the book To Fly & Fight—Memoirs of a Triple Ace and will be offering autographed copies of that book for sale at the autograph tent during the airshow.  Col. Dean Caswell Caswell was born in 1921 in Benning, California, and raised in Texas. After graduating from flight school at Pensacola, Florida in 1943, he was assigned to VMF-221 as a Marine Corps Pilot flying the F4U Corsair.  In December 1944, Caswell went to sea aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill for battle against the Japanese in the Pacific. VMF-221 claimed the aerial destruction of 185 enemy aircraft, the second highest-scoring Marine Squadron. On May 11, 1945, the Bunker Hill was seriously damaged by two kamikazes and had to return to the United States for repairs. After the war, Dean Caswell remained in the Marine Corps and continued flying from carriers until 1951. After a short stint with the Blue Angels, he was called for duty in the Korean Conflict and served two tours, flying the F4U-5 Corsair, F7F-2 Tigercat and the F3D Skynight. In Vietnam he Commanded an Air Group flying the F4 Phantom and retired as a Colonel in 1967. He now resides in Austin, Texas. For his service he was awarded the Silver Star, 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 7 Air Medals and 14 other citations and is only one of two surviving Marine Aces alive today  Col. Dick Cole, Doolittle Raiders Born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, the birthplace of aviation, Cole was born to fly. Every chance he got, he'd bicycle to McCook Field and sit on the levee of the Miami River to "watch what was going on" at the Army Air Corps' first airplane test base. Cole signed up to fly with both the Navy and the Army, but the Army Air Corps' answer came first. After training, his first assignment was flying the B-25 Mitchell with the 17th Bombardment Group in Pendleton, Ore. After Pearl Harbor, the group flew anti-submarine patrols off the Pacific Northwest coast. Early in 1942, the Army needed volunteers for a secret mission. The Doolittle Raiders were a group of 80 volunteer airmen from the U.S. Army Air Forces who on April 18, 1942, flew 16 B-25 Mitchell airplanes from the deck of the USS Hornet on a daring mission to bomb Japan. Their name is derived from the man who led the air raid, Army Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle. Through fate, and an ill crew leader, Cole was assigned to fly as co-pilot with Jimmy Doolittle during the raid. After the raid, Cole stayed in China and India flying cargo planes. By 1943, Cole was back stateside. That year he met his wife. Martha, a "stowaway" his co-pilot found on a flight from Tulsa, Oklahoma and three weeks later they married. Twelve years later, the Coles moved from California to San Antonio, and eventually settled in Comfort, Texas.  Col. Joe McPhail McPhail started flight school on 4 December 1941 at the naval air station in Dallas and earned his wings on Oct. 1,1942. He left for the Pacific on 16 January 1943 and joined VMF-441 on Samoa flying F4F Grumman Wildcats, and returned to the U.S. in February, 1944. He went back overseas in January of 1945 and joined VMF-323 "Death Rattlers"  flying the F-4U Corsair on Okinawa. McPhail flew 140 Combat Missions in WWII, and is credited for shooting down a Zero and a Nate. He was called back for duty during the Korean Conflict flying the Corsair with the famed VMF-214 "Black Sheep" Squadron, completing 102 missions and earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses, 11 Air Medals and the Navy Commendation Medal.  Capt. Pete Mullinax Mullinax was a WWII B-17 Flying Fortress Pilot with the 8th Air Force, 94th Bomb Group. His 9th mission was to attack the heavily defended ball bearing plants at Schienfurt, Germany, on 14 October 1943. After releasing his bombs on target, his B-17 was attacked by German fighter aircraft forcing Mullinax and his crew to bail out over enemy territory. He was captured, and after recovering from his wounds, spent the remainder of the war as a POW.  Lt. Col. Vince Lipovsky Lipovsky was inspired to be a pilot by Charles Lindbergh's Atlantic crossing in 1927. He joined the Civilian Military Training Camp in 1937, followed by the Navy Cadet program in 1942. He received his commission in the Marine Corps in 1943 flying the Corsair and joined fighter squadron VMF-223, commanded by Marion Carl and led by Ken Frasier. After training on Midway, he transferred to Vella Lavella, north of Guadalcanal where his 1st Corsair mission was on his 24th birthday, November 28, 1943. On one occasion a drunk Boyington came into Lipovsky's tent demanding his squadron's liquor. However after a stare down and some minor threats, Boyington left Lipovsky's tent without incident not realizing that he had been sitting on the 30 bottles of liquor he sought. On another mission, Lipovsky's plane's tail wheel was hit by shrapnel on takeoff and he had to abort takeoff to get a new plane. Just after he left the plane it was hit by a Japanese mortar and was totally destroyed. Lipovsky went on to Green Island where, in March 1944, Charles Lindbergh arrived, and Lipovsky, together with Ed Firestone and Hank Emory, took Lindbergh on "targets of opportunity" missions. Lipovsky flew a total of 66 missions in the Pacific earning a Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was recalled for service in the Korean war where he flew jets on 33 missions as a photo recon pilot. After the Korean war, he worked on the ICBM missile program and the Apollo program for which his company built the heat shield for the re-entry vehicle and other devices. Lipovsky currently lives in Seabrook, TX.  T/Sgt. David Stedman Entered the Air Corps in April 1943, and after training was assigned to the 455th B.G. as a radio operator/ gunner. T/Sgt. Stedman completed 24 combat missions and was awarded the Air Medal with one Oak leaf Cluster and four Battle Ribbons.  Col. Dan Holland Holland had a career in the United States Marine Corps spanning some 28 years as a pilot. In World War II, he served as a Corsair pilot with the famous VMF-214 Black Sheep Squadron. In Korea, he was with the Marine 7th Regiments Forward Air Controllers during the Chosin Reservoir campaign. In Vietnam, he served 2 tours of duty, one of which he was the Commanding Officer of the VMGR 152. Holland retired in El Toro, California after serving as Chief of Staff of Marine Air Bases West from 1968-1970.  T/Sgt. Raul Baldit Baldit was a combat infantryman of the 87th division of the third Army. In 1944 his unit entered combat in Frances Alsace-Lorraine. After heavy fighting, his division crossed the German border in the Saar Region on Dec. 15, 1944. On Dec. 25, 1944, his unit was called upon to take part in the historic counterattack in The Battle of the Bulge. The division raced 200 miles to attack the German Panzer Lehr Division near Bastogne. Sgt. Baldit also participated in the Breaching of the Siegfried Line, Moselle River Crossing, Capturing of Koblenz, Rhine Crossing and the dash across Germany to Plaven, near the Czech border.		Celeste Graves Celeste Graves was born August 30, 1919 in Magnolia, Texas.  In 1935 at age 15, she graduated from Magnolia High school in a graduating  class of eight students. After leaving Magnolia for short periods of time for college and then during World War II and the Korean War to join her husband, a radio operator at several military bases in California, she and her husband moved back to Magnolia to raise their children. During World War II, she was a dispatcher for the Civilian Pilot Training Program for Aviation Enterprises at Municipal Airport in  Houston, Texas.  A contract was awarded the company to train women pilots to free up men for combat. Graves stayed on as dispatcher. The beginning of the WASP (Women Air Force Service Pilots) began in Houston as the AAFWFTD (Army Air Force Women Flight Training Detachment). Later, the combined Air Force programs were officially named WASP. Graves has written a book A View From The Doghouse about these brave women.  Maj. Gen. Frederick C. "Boots" Blesse Blesse was one of the greatest aces of the Korean War era. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1945, flew two combat tours during the Korean War, completing 67 missions in F-51s (after World War Two the US Air Force changed all "P" (pursuit) designations to "F" (fighter) designations so the Mustang was re-designated the F-51), 35 missions in F-80s and 121 missions in F-86s. During his second tour in F-86s, he was officially credited with shooting down nine MiG-15s and one La-9. At the time of his return to the U.S. in October 1952, he was America's leading jet ace. Blesse remained with fighter aircraft for practically his entire military career. During the 1955 Air Force Worldwide Gunnery Championship, he won all six trophies offered for individual performance, a feat never equaled since. During the Vietnam War, he served two tours in Southeast Asia; while on his first tour in 1967-1968, he flew 156 combat missions. He retired from the USAF in 1975 as a major general, with more than 6,500 flying hours in fighter aircraft and more than 650 hours combat time to his credit.  Sgt. Earl E. McClung McClung entered the U.S. Army at the age of 19 and was one of two Native American scouts for the 101st Airborne Easy Company "Band of Brothers". He fought in all major campaigns, including the Normandy Invasion, Operation Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge at Bastogne. Easy Company captured Berchtesgarden where McClung was the first U.S. soldier to enter "Tea House" (now called "Eagle's Nest"), and Field Marshal Herman Goering's home. He re-enlisted in 1946 at Ft. Benning, after which he was sent to Greenville, SC, where he worked as an instructor for glider pilots. McClung was portrayed in the movie Band Of Brothers.  Sgt. R.V. Burgin Burgin joined the United States Marine Corps during World War II on 13 November 1942, and was assigned to the 9th Replacement Battalion. He became a mortar-man in K-Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division and fought in the Pacific War at Cape Gloucester, then alongside his friend, Eugene Sledge, on Peleliu and then Okinawa. Burgin was promoted to the rank of Sergeant after Peleliu. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions in the Battle of Okinawa on 2 May 1945, when he destroyed a Japanese Machine Gun emplacement that had his company pinned down. He was wounded on 20 May, and received a Purple Heart. He returned to his company after spending 20 days in a field hospital and remained with them for the duration of the battle. Burgin is the author of the memoir Islands of the Damned and is portrayed in the HBO miniseries The Pacific.  CW 4 Daniel Flores Daniel Flores is a native Houstonian who started his military career as an infantryman with the 4th Infantry Division, based in Colorado Springs, CO. He graduated from the U. S. Army Basic Training and Infantry School as a Distinguished Honor graduate. After serving on active duty, he continued his service with the Texas Army National Guard, in the States Special Operations Unit, Co. G 143rd Infantry Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) Unit. He conducted several missions along the Texas/Mexico border against the Mexican drug smuggling business and also trained along side the British SAS. In 1990, Flores was accepted into a newly formed aviation squadron based in Conroe Texas. The 7th Squadron 6th Cavalry Regiment was the United States Army Reserve’s only attack aviation unit that was designated as a Cavalry Squadron. The squadron was established with the AH-1 Cobra helicopter and was certified in the AH-64 Apache helicopter in 1995. He was activated in 2005 to be deployed to Afghanistan for “Operation Enduring Freedom” as the attack asset for the 10th Mountain Division. During his one year tour, he was witness to the resurgence of the Taliban and participated in some of the fiercest fighting in the Hindu Kush Mountains, in the hotly contested valley in Afghanistan known as the Korengal Valley. He was featured in a segment about his rescue of an American convoy that was ambushed in the Tagab valley which aired on the Military Channel’s series, “My War diary”. The story is featured in his upcoming book in detail and can still be viewed on the Military channel’s website under the title “Apache rescue”.  CW2 Todd Dillon CW2 Todd Dillon entered the US Army in February 2000 as Crew Chief/Mechanic on the AH-64A Apache Helicopter.  He was Commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in March 2002, entered Initial Entry Rotary Wing Training at Ft. Rucker, AL, and completed AH-64 Apache flight training in October 2003. Todd's initial combat deployment was in October 2005 to Forward Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, with the 8/229th Aviation Regiment, flying the AH-64A Apache in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) III.  Following that deployment, Todd separated from the Army and served as a commercial pilot, flying Bell 206 and 407 helicopters. In February 2010, Todd returned to active duty as a Warrant Officer/Instructor Pilot with the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Ft. Hood, TX.  CW2 Dillon was deployed to Afghanistan, flying the AH-64D Apache in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) 10X11 in East Patika, on the Pakistan border. CW2 Dillon returned from Afghanistan in the summer of 2011 and is currently an Instructor Pilot with the 1st Armor Division, CAB, 4-501st, Ft. Bliss, TX In service to his country, CW2 Todd Dillon has flown more than 1200 combat hours in the AH-64 Apache in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  T/Sgt. Lorenzo Dow (L.D.) Todd Jr. Todd joined the US Army Air Corps in 1942. Following Liaison flight training in Texas, he participated in the invasion of Okinawa with the 163rd Liaison Squadron as an L-5 Sentinel pilot.  In addition to continuous  combat missions in support of ground operations and artillery spotting, L.D. participated in the heroic evacuation of Marine casualties using Itoman Road as a makeshift runway.  Capt.  A. J. High High was a B-25 Pilot during WWII, beginning the war in the Aluetian Islands and later served as a B-17 and B-29 instructor. In 1947 he was one of the first sixteen pilots hired by Trans-Texas Airways, and his career spanned the evolution of commercial airline passenger service in Texas from its beginnings to the modern era.  With more than 40 years and 40,000 hours of flight time, he has witnessed quite a few historic moments. Captain High flew many types of aircraft, from converted Army C-47 prop planes, to jet engined DC-9s, and was the pilot of the first plane to land at Houston Intercontinental Airport when opened in 1968. He can be found volunteering at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum at Hobby Airport.  Lt. Col. John B Lee When Lee turned 18 years old, he signed up in the Army Air Corps and was assigned to the Gulf Coast Training Command in Texas. At age 19 he received his commission and wings as a fighter pilot at Foster Field in Victoria, Texas. Lee was sent to Europe where he was assigned to the 20th FG, 79th FS and flew P-51 Mustangs. He completed 52 combat missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, 6 Air Medals and 3 Battle Stars. In 1948, he went to work for the NACA, (the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), at Langley Field, in Hampton, Virginia.  In 1958, President Eisenhower established NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Lee was one of the first 35 people assigned to the Mercury Space Task Group, that started the Manned Space Flight Program. John Lee was made Chief of the Mechanical Systems Section on the Mercury Project. For the Apollo Project, he was a lead Engineer on one of the 3 parallel studies conducted to show that man could go to the moon.  Maj. James C. McLane, Jr. McLane left Clemson College in 1943 to join the Army Air Corps.  He graduated in Class 44B at Marianna, Florida, being commissioned a 2nd Lt. Rated Pilot.  He instructed Advanced  Single Engine student pilots for two classes, and then he received 6 months training in P-40 aircraft at Punta Gorda in a Fighter Pilot Replacement Unit.   Early in 1945 McLane was assigned to fly P-51s with the famed 357th Fighter Group, the “Yoxford Boys” stationed in Leiston England.  He joined the 362nd Fighter Squadron led by 3-time ace Leonard K. “Kit” Carson.  Initially he flew borrowed aircraft, but then was assigned G4-V, tail number 414798.  This P-51 had seen lots of action, first as Master Mike and later as Butch Baby, the mount of Col. Joseph Broadhead and Lt. Julian H. Bertram respectively. McLane's aircraft was stripped of paint and re-identified on the nose as Dainty Dotty in honor of his wife Dorothy.  McLane flew bomber escort and experienced a memorable mission as Carson’s wingman hunting for ME-262’s.  After the war, he flew C-119, C-123 and C-130 aircraft in the Air Force Reserves, retiring as a Major.  Capt. Birt Brumby B-24 pilot with the 458th Bombardment Group In WWII. Led missions to German targets.  Lt. Richard "Rip" Collins  WWII P-47 and P-51 Pilot,  35th FG, 40th FS "Red Devils", 5th AF. Members of the PEARL HARBOR SURVIVORS ASSN:  George Hemingway PBY vet on Ford Island during Pearl Harbor attack.  Enoch Vaughn Repair Sqdrn, Ford Island during Pearl Harbor Attack.  Lewis LaGesse Was on the battleship West Virginia when hit by 7 torpedoes and sank.