bobdina
05-14-2010, 10:25 AM
Walker 'Bud' Mahurin, ace WWII fighter pilot, dies at 91
By Dennis Mclellan, Los Angeles Times
Stars and Stripes online edition, Friday, May 14, 2010
LOS ANGELES — Walker "Bud" Mahurin, the Army Air Forces' first double ace in Europe during World War II who went on to serve in the Pacific and later became a POW after being shot down during the Korean War, has died. He was 91.
Mahurin, a retired Air Force colonel who had suffered a stroke in October, died Tuesday at his home in Newport Beach, said his stepdaughter, Valerie Miller.
"The name is familiar to almost everybody in the Air Force," said Doug Lantry, a historian at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
"Bud Mahurin was the only Air Force pilot to shoot down enemy aircraft in the European theater of operations and the Pacific and in Korea," said Lantry. "He was known as a very courageous, skilled and tenacious fighter pilot."
A native of Michigan, Mahurin enlisted in the Army Air Forces as an aviation cadet in September 1941.
Assigned to the 8th Air Forces' 56th Fighter Group based in England and flying a P-47 Thunderbolt, he scored his first aerial victories in August 1943 by shooting down two German fighters while escorting B-17 bombers.
That October, he became an ace (signifying that he had downed five enemy aircraft).
"I was brought up in an age when flying was the only thing," Mahurin said in a 2003 interview for the Air Force magazine Airman. "We knew the value of being an ace, but you just didn't try to go out and become an ace. Mostly because, in my case, I was scared to death to begin with. I thought if I just get to meet an ace while on active duty, I'd be happy."
In November 1943, Mahurin became the first American pilot in the European Theater of Operations to have shot down 10 enemy planes. He also became the 56th Fighter Group's first Silver Star recipient.
In March 1944, he shared credit for downing a German bomber, but he had to bail out of his heavily damaged plane. With help from members of the French Resistance, he was able to return to England two months later.
Because his knowledge of the French Resistance could endanger lives if he were shot down again and taken prisoner, Mahurin was grounded and returned stateside.
Later that year, he became commander of the 3rd Fighter Squadron, part of the 3rd Air Commando Group, in the Philippines. Flying a P-51 Mustang, he scored his only aerial victory in the Pacific in January 1945.
Mahurin, who eventually was shot down by ground fire and spent hours in a life raft before being rescued, ended the war with 20.75 aerial victories. (The fraction indicates he shared the victories with other pilots.)
He was serving in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force when the Korean War started in 1950. He went on to score 3.5 aerial victories in Korea, flying an F-86 Sabre jet with the 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing.
After being shot down by ground fire in May 1952, he crash-landed and spent 16 months as a prisoner of war, during which he endured torture and brainwashing.
Mahurin was born Dec. 5, 1918, in Benton Harbor, Mich. He studied engineering at Purdue University before joining the Army Air Forces. Returning to Purdue after the war, he received a bachelor's degree in astronautics and aeronautics in 1949.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1956, he worked in the aviation industry. His autobiography, "Honest John: The Autobiography of Walker M. Mahurin," was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 1962.
In addition to his stepdaughter, he is survived by his wife of 40 years, Joan; three children from a previous marriage, George Mahurin, Michael Mahurin and Lynn Vaughn; and seven grandchildren.
Mahurin will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
By Dennis Mclellan, Los Angeles Times
Stars and Stripes online edition, Friday, May 14, 2010
LOS ANGELES — Walker "Bud" Mahurin, the Army Air Forces' first double ace in Europe during World War II who went on to serve in the Pacific and later became a POW after being shot down during the Korean War, has died. He was 91.
Mahurin, a retired Air Force colonel who had suffered a stroke in October, died Tuesday at his home in Newport Beach, said his stepdaughter, Valerie Miller.
"The name is familiar to almost everybody in the Air Force," said Doug Lantry, a historian at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
"Bud Mahurin was the only Air Force pilot to shoot down enemy aircraft in the European theater of operations and the Pacific and in Korea," said Lantry. "He was known as a very courageous, skilled and tenacious fighter pilot."
A native of Michigan, Mahurin enlisted in the Army Air Forces as an aviation cadet in September 1941.
Assigned to the 8th Air Forces' 56th Fighter Group based in England and flying a P-47 Thunderbolt, he scored his first aerial victories in August 1943 by shooting down two German fighters while escorting B-17 bombers.
That October, he became an ace (signifying that he had downed five enemy aircraft).
"I was brought up in an age when flying was the only thing," Mahurin said in a 2003 interview for the Air Force magazine Airman. "We knew the value of being an ace, but you just didn't try to go out and become an ace. Mostly because, in my case, I was scared to death to begin with. I thought if I just get to meet an ace while on active duty, I'd be happy."
In November 1943, Mahurin became the first American pilot in the European Theater of Operations to have shot down 10 enemy planes. He also became the 56th Fighter Group's first Silver Star recipient.
In March 1944, he shared credit for downing a German bomber, but he had to bail out of his heavily damaged plane. With help from members of the French Resistance, he was able to return to England two months later.
Because his knowledge of the French Resistance could endanger lives if he were shot down again and taken prisoner, Mahurin was grounded and returned stateside.
Later that year, he became commander of the 3rd Fighter Squadron, part of the 3rd Air Commando Group, in the Philippines. Flying a P-51 Mustang, he scored his only aerial victory in the Pacific in January 1945.
Mahurin, who eventually was shot down by ground fire and spent hours in a life raft before being rescued, ended the war with 20.75 aerial victories. (The fraction indicates he shared the victories with other pilots.)
He was serving in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force when the Korean War started in 1950. He went on to score 3.5 aerial victories in Korea, flying an F-86 Sabre jet with the 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing.
After being shot down by ground fire in May 1952, he crash-landed and spent 16 months as a prisoner of war, during which he endured torture and brainwashing.
Mahurin was born Dec. 5, 1918, in Benton Harbor, Mich. He studied engineering at Purdue University before joining the Army Air Forces. Returning to Purdue after the war, he received a bachelor's degree in astronautics and aeronautics in 1949.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1956, he worked in the aviation industry. His autobiography, "Honest John: The Autobiography of Walker M. Mahurin," was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 1962.
In addition to his stepdaughter, he is survived by his wife of 40 years, Joan; three children from a previous marriage, George Mahurin, Michael Mahurin and Lynn Vaughn; and seven grandchildren.
Mahurin will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.