A gentleman whose career I've researched & followed is 100 years young today!
COL (Ret) C.E. "Bud" Anderson, USAAF/USAF. He and Chuck Yeager eventually became close friends and Yeager still called him probably the best natural pilot he's ever met. I remain grateful for the copy of his book "To Fly and Fight" that he autographed for me. It's a worthwhile read & goes way beyond having come home from Europe as a 22-yr old Major. Covers his test work, squadron command, and service in Viet Nam.
He's always had a keen sense of holding onto history and has an amazing collection of photos & some videos at
his website here.
The kind of men those were is exemplified by a comment he'd made when someone had asked him if he was ever scared:
"I was a farm kid from northern California who'd learned how to fly. Hey! They made me an officer! And they gave me this big, beautiful plane to fly...
Scared? Hell no, I was having the time of my life."
Salud!
