American Patriot: The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day » (Reprint)

Robert Coram is the author of four nonfiction books and seven novels. His articles have appeared in the New Yorker and other national magazines, and he was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for his work as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

During the course of his military career, Bud Day won every available combat medal, escaped death on no less than seven occasions, and spent 67 months as a POW in the infamous Hanoi Hilton, along with John McCain. Despite sustained torture, Day would not break. He became a hero to POWs everywhere—a man who fought without pause, not a prisoner of war, but a prisoner at war.



Upon his return, passed over for promotion to Brigadier General, Day retired. But years later, with his children grown and a lifetime of service to his country behind him, he would engage in another battle, this one against an opponent he never had expected: his own country. On his side would be the hundreds of thousands of veterans who had fought for America only to be betrayed. And what would happen next would make Bud Day an even greater legend.

Kirkus Reviews

A modern warrior's achievements and heroics culminate in opposition to a U.S. government viewed as breaking trust with military veterans. Coram (Boyd, 2002, etc.) confesses in the preface to an "unbounded admiration" of Colonel (USAF) George "Bud" Day. His subject goes from a roughshod, undisciplined-even court-martialed-Marine recruit in WWII to the military's most decorated veteran (his awards include the Medal of Honor) as a result of action as both an Air Force flying officer and POW in Vietnam. Indeed, the bulk of the narrative flits frequently into outright homage. It's somewhat understandable when dealing with a military pilot who compiles an exemplary service record, gets a law degree in his spare time, hones legendary flying skills, survives two accidents of a type that killed all others known to be involved in them, leads a crucial combat squadron in Vietnam, then is shot down and not only attempts a nearly successful escape but becomes a notorious (to his captors) "hard resistor" surviving torture in the company of his fellow POW, now Senator, John McCain. Coram's extended take on Day's career pre-Vietnam tracks with steady military-family-man allegiances and no-B.S. character testimonials, and it's certain to be more appreciated by fellow vets. An interesting theme does emerge post-Vietnam: an on-again, off-again association with McCain, who adopts a softer attitude than Day on POWs who did not actively resist and took an early release others declined; they also part on the Swift-boat veterans attack (denounced by McCain) on John Kerry. There are some blunt personal references to McCain in the book, particularly unflattering in the context of presidential ambitions. After twodecades in retirement, Day leads an assault against the Clinton administration's cutback of veterans' promised medical benefits, characterized by Coram in a final, redundant reference, as "the mission God saved him for."The record speaks for itself; alienation and politicization lurk between the lines. Agent: Mel Berger/William Morris Agency

Acknowledgments     vi
Preface     vii
Prologue     3
Siouxland     13
War and Peace     29
Preparation     43
The Wild Blue Yonder     63
Sporty Flying     83
Building Time     101
Hit My Smoke     119
South Toward Freedom     135
North Toward Hell     151
The Bug     177
Another Summer of Love     205
The Years of the Locust     223
The Freedom Bird     241
Three's In ... With Unfinished Business     255
Over the Side     273
Good-bye Yellow Dogs     289
Once More unto the Breach     305
The Fat Lady Never Sings     325
One More Mission     345
Epilogue     363
Sources     378
Bibliography     379
Index     383