Article by Bill Poindexter. May 18, 2024
World War 2 hero, Triple Ace pilot Bud Anderson of Auburn dies at 102
Clarence E. "Bud" Anderson poses with one of his P-51 Mustang "Old Crow" fighter planes during his 100th birthday party in January 2022.
The last surviving Triple Ace pilot from World War II is gone.
Brigadier General Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson of Auburn died at about 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 17, 2024, daughter Kitty Burlington confirmed Saturday in a call with the Auburn Journal. Anderson decided two weeks ago to stop dialysis treatment, Burlington said.
Anderson earned Triple Ace status in World War II with 16¼ kills, two probable kills, two damaged aircraft and one enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground. Over 116 combat missions, Anderson’s two “Old Crow” P-51 Mustangs were never hit by even a single enemy bullet.
“He’s kind of a wrecking ball of a guy,” General Charles Q. Brown Jr., chief of staff of the United States Air Force, said to laughter during a ceremony in December 2022 in which Anderson received an honorary promotion to Brigadier General at the Aerospace Museum of California at McClellan. “I wouldn’t want to have him behind us shooting us down.”
Burlington on Saturday remembered him as a father and figure who was beloved in Auburn and whose presence was in demand throughout the nation and worldwide.
“He was a humble person, and very generous with his time and very willing to spend time to talk to people who came to him, especially kids. I always admired that,” Burlington said. “My daughters just sent me an article out of the New York Times, and holy smoke, it’s pretty amazing to see all the people that knew about him and respected him and honored him and followed him, It’s beyond my imagination.”
Anderson was a test pilot who flew more than 130 types of aircraft and logged more than 7,500 hours. He served as Chief of Flight Test Operations at Edwards AFB in Southern California and was an advanced R&D staff planner and Director of Operational Requirements with the Pentagon.
Over 30 years of active duty, Anderson served as commander of the F-86 Squadron following the Korean War and the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing in Southeast Asia.
Anderson earned five Distinguished Flying Crosses, 16 Air Medals, a Bronze Star, the French Legion of Honor and the 2015 Congressional Gold Medal with the American Fighter Aces. He was a life member of the American Fighter Aces Association, a Fellow for the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and was inducted into the National Aviation, International Air & Space and Experimental Aircraft Association Warbirds Halls of Fame.
In promoting Anderson to honorary Brigadier General, Brown recalled going through Anderson’s records to read what others thought of him, including one that stood out:
“(Anderson) can be trusted to express an honest opinion based on knowledge, experience and ability. He’s perceptive and intelligent. He has the experience and potential for advancement to a position of greater responsibility, and I consider that general officer material.”
Anderson turned 100 on Jan. 13, 2022, and shortly after, longtime friend Lt. Col. Tom Dwelle hosted more than 200 people at a birthday party for Anderson in his hangar at the Auburn Airport. Restored replicas of Anderson’s P-51B and P-51D Mustang "Old Crow" fighters flanked numerous tables for guests.
“Our world erupted yesterday,” Dwelle said Saturday. “What a fighter he was, my God.”
The birthday party featured a 26-minute video which included past interviews with Anderson, who described his World War II missions battling German fighter pilots. He spent considerable time greeting and talking to people and posing for photos.
Another video included birthday wishes from journalist and TV personality David Hartman. NASCAR Hall of Famer Jack Roush attended the party and spoke.
Another highlight of the party featured Anderson and Placer High School (class of 1939) and World War II Ace pilot Diz Laird sharing the stage for a talk and several chuckles. Laird said they met at about the age of 12, when Anderson “crashed my Boy Scout meeting in Loomis.”
Laird went on to join the Navy and is the only pilot to shoot down planes in the Pacific and over Germany.
“Can you imagine two guys from the same high school class became aces during World War II?” Anderson said to the gathering.
Anderson and Laird knew each other nearly 90 years. Laird passed away on Aug. 10, 2022, at 101.
Anderson’s death follows the passing of Lou Conter on April 1. Conter, who died in Grass Valley, was the last survivor of the USS Arizona attack at Pearl Harbor. Legendary pilot Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager of Grass Valley died Dec. 7, 2020.
Jim Anderson said at his dad’s 100th birthday party he was “blessed by so many people that love him.”
“To have him make it to 100 is almost a miracle, and he’s had an unbelievable life,” Jim Anderson said. “I did a little research and found out that sliced bread was invented in 1928, so he’s older than sliced bread. I like to tease him. But he’s been so fortunate and blessed by God to have all these airplanes restored the way he flew them.”