Bud Anderson

Anderson was born in Oakland, California, and reared on a farm near Newcastle, California. In January 1942, he enlisted in the United States Army as an aviation cadet and received his wings and commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army Air Forces in September 1942.\n', '

Anderson flew two tours of combat against the Luftwaffe in Europe while with the 363rd Fighter Squadron of the 357th Fighter Group, based at RAF Leiston, England, and was the group\'s third leading ace with 16¼ aerial victories. The others only flew one tour so they had less time in the air. His P-51D-10-NA Mustang, AAF Ser. No. 414450 B6-S, nicknamed Old Crow (after the whiskey of the same name), carried him safely through 116 missions without being hit by fire from enemy aircraft and without Anderson ever having to turn back for any reason. He returned to the United States in February 1945 as a major…