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Show H,„„), TIMES 8 Aug. 1, 2013 HILLTOP TIMES One of Air Force most decorated heroes passes away Air Force News Service S HALIMAR, Fla. — One of the most decorated Airmen in Air Force history, whose career spanned three wars and four decades, has passed away. Retired Col. George Everett "Bud" Day, an Air Force pilot, shot down during the Vietnam War and imprisoned in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" along with Sen. John McCain, defiantly resisted the North Vietnamese for more than five years, and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. He passed away July 27, in Shalimar, Fla., at age 88. Day received close to 70 medals and awards, 50 of them combat-related, during a career that began in 1942 when, as a young 17-year-old, enlisted in the Marine Corps. Day would spend three years in the South Pacific during World War II before returning home to get a law degree. In 1950, Day joined the Air National Guard and was called to active duty a year later, where he would go through pilot training and become a fighter pilot in the Air Force, where he would fly sorties during the Korean War. But it was during the Vietnam War that Day would make his mark on history. In 1967, Maj. Day commanded Detachment 1, 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron, an F-110 unit, with the top secret mission to fly over Vietnam and Laos as forward air controllers. On Aug. 26, Day's plane was hit by ground fire, and as he plummeted to Earth, he ejected and smashed against the fuselage, breaking his arm in three places. Day was initially captured and taken to an underground shelter, where he was threatened with a mock execution after refusing to answer the enemy's questions. After five days, he escaped. In spite of his serious injuries and missing his boots, he traveled over 25 miles. During his arduous travel, he ate only During one instance in 1971, guards burst in with rifles as some of the prisoners gathered for a forbidden religious service. Day defiantly stared the guards down and began to sing the "Star Spangled Banner" in protest. The other prisoners, including the prison's top ranking officer, James Stockdale, joined him. In 1973, after 67 grueling months in captivity, he was released. The damage by the enemy permanently scarred Day's body, but he tenaciously fought to get well. A year later he was back on flight status, and he qualified as an F-4 pilot. Col Day became vice commander of the 33th Tactical Fighter Wing, and he retired from active service in 1976. On March 4, 1976, President Gerald R. Ford presented Day with the nation's highest award, the Medal of Honor, during a White House ceremony. In attendance was one of his fellow prisoners, Adm. Stockdale. Another fel- local fruit and raw frogs, and he was further injured when a bomb went off nearby. After about 10 days, Day made it across the Ben Hai River into South Vietnam and a few days later was about two miles away from the Marine base at Con Thien. Tragically, Viet Cong insurgents discovered Day and shot him in the left thigh and left hand. He was then moved to the "Hanoi Hilton," where his wounds were left untreated, he suffered from malnutrition and was constantly tortured. Day endured years of agonizing treatment. Many of his injuries did not heal properly, and his weight dropped to about 100 pounds. Still, Day remained defiant. In the spring of 1968, he was taken to the "Zoo," a punishment camp for "hard resisters." There, he was beaten so hard his vision became blurred. After Ho Chi Minh died in the fall of 1969, the POWs' situation improved somewhat, but Day was still singled out for especially harsh treatment. Courtesy photo George Everett "Bud" Day is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and command pilot who served during the Vietnam War. He is often cited as being the most decorated U.S. service member since Gen. Douglas MacArthur, having received some seventy decorations, a majority for actions in combat. low prisoner, Sen. John McCain, wrote about Day in his memoir, "Col. Day had an indomitable will to survive with his reputation intact, and he strengthened my will to live." The SCRA helps active duty Airmen BY GRANT W. ARNOLD 75th Air Base Wing intern L egal issues can arise in several ways and affect all kinds of people. Naturally, Airmen serving on active duty are no exception. When faced with a legal issue, many people may choose a path that they assume is the easiest simply because they do not know about all of the benefits afforded to them under the law. However, active duty Airmen and other military service members should not let legal apathy deprive them of a possible better legal outcome. One law that many service members may not be familiar with is the Service members Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The SCRA is a helpful law that protects active duty service members in several ways. For example, §521 protects active duty service members against default judgments. Thus, if an Airman failed to appear in court because of service obligations, he or she could be protected against any default judgments that happened to be entered against him or her. Or check out §523 which provides that a service member, who incurs a penalty for failure to perform a contractual obligation, can have a court reduce or waive the penalty if the failure to perform the obligation was materially affected by service obligations. Similarly, §524 allows a court to stay or vacate certain court orders affecting Airmen, or other active duty service members, if the court feels the service member's service is materially affecting the member's ability to obey the court order. Another very helpful section of the SCRA is §535a which allows a service member to terminate a telephone contract if they receive orders to relocate to an area that does not support the telephone contract. Of course, the contract must have been entered into before the service member received relocation orders. Also, if the area the service member is ordered to move to supports the contract, or if the deployment is less than 90 days, then this helpful loophole is not applicable. However, in most cases, this law can be a great relief for a service member who suddenly gets orders to deploy. Those interested in exercising their legal right to terminate their cell phone contract under this provision must deliver a written or electronic notice of the termination, with the desired date of termination, and a copy of their military orders to the service provider. It is a relatively painless process compared to trying to terminate a contract without the aid of §535a. There are many other protections afforded under the SCRA because the purpose of the act is to allow "service members of the United States ... (to) devote their entire energy to the defense needs of the nation." Airmen, and other service members know that the mission comes first. The SCRA is a tool to help you accomplish your mission. If you are going through a legal issue and are not certain on the rights available to you, why not let the legal assistance office help you in learning more. To set up a legal assistance appointment, call 801-777-6626. IDEAs can be submitted at httbs://ipds.csd.disa.mil There's no place ITSA.gov . . Have you ever worytere.d how the Wizard of Oz seemed to know everythInOWell, the secret's out and it's IJSA.gov . You everything from student loans can find to government. melt ons and government benefits to, well, almost anything. 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