"I Plan To Be There Again This Year"

by ANN Correspondent Aleta Vinas

Clarence E. (Bud) Anderson is a triple ace. During 116 combat missions with the 363rd Fighter Squadron of the 357th Fighter Group Anderson achieved 16.25 victories. Anderson stayed in the service after the war... and was decorated 26 times! Anderson still flies today and maintains his Flight Instructor Certificate.

As a teen, Anderson was given his taste of aviation by T/Sgt. Arthur J. Lewis at Mather Field near Sacramento (CA). A month after Pearl Harbor, Anderson enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He trained in P39’s, and then moved into the P51 Mustang in Europe.

About one month after his first mission in Europe Anderson scored his first victory; he downed an ME 109 that was attacking a B-17. After the war Anderson became a military test pilot. He also commanded a Fighter Squadron, two Fighter Wings and served twice in the Pentagon. In Vietnam, he flew the F105. Anderson retired as a full colonel. Oshkosh beckoned to Anderson in the early 90s.

"It's been about 15 years and I've gone every year," recalled Anderson. "I plan to be there again this year."

Anderson will likely be found in the warbird area, and currently has a talk scheduled there at 10am Wednesday, July 25.

"The one that I enjoyed the most was the time they honored our World War II 357th Fighter Group."

It was 1995 and several other members of the 357th were in attendance; Leonard Carson, Chuck Yeager, Tommy Hayes and Richard A. Peterson.

Several P-51 Mustangs painted in the schemes from World War II, as they were flown by the pilots, made an appearance as well. Anderson's Old Crow, owned by Jack Roush, Hayes’s plane Frenesi owned by Jim Beasley, Yeager's plane, Glamorous Glen III, owned by Ed and Connie Bowlin and Peterson’s Hurry Home Honey owned by Charles Osborne.

In addition to panels in the warbird area, Anderson recalls the pilots were the featured speakers at Theater in the Woods.

"They had a mob there, it was incredible. TV screens were added, so people outside the theater could see" Anderson remembered someone mentioning it was "the largest crowd up to that point."

David Hartman, aviation enthusiast and supporter was the moderator of the panel. Said Anderson "We got up there and told war stories. That was really special."

Anderson recalled his very first Oshkosh, where it wasn't the airplanes that made the impression, but rather the grounds.

"I was really impressed with the whole thing, especially the large crowds and how they were handled and the scheduling. It seemed to me pretty efficient for all volunteers." Anderson remarked. "What got me was you didn't see any trash around. They kept the grounds clean and then it seems to grow on the people and the people didn't throw things away. One of my first impressions was how clean the grounds were and it stayed clean the full week."

Anderson also noted the sheer number of aircraft present at Oshkosh, "it was just incredible driving by seeing all the light planes parked out on the field. People sleeping in pup tents, just having a great time, the whole week."

White Knight and SpaceShipOne are crowd pleasers, and for Anderson as well. "It's pretty special to see those one-of-a-kind airplanes. You just can't go to your local airport and expect to see something like that."

(ANN thanks cebudanderson.com for use of its photos.)

FMI: www.cebudanderson.com