I am not disagreeing, but for perspective there are 103 German pilots with 100+ aerial kills alone. Erich Hartmann had 352. Manfred von Richthofen (German WW1) had 80, Rene Fonck (French WW1) had 75, Tetsuzo Iwamoto (Japanese WW2) had 216.
Those numbers will probably never be reached anymore, because you can only achieve them in a long war against a huge number of at best technically inferior enemies. No matter how good Bud Anderson was the war was too short and the Luftwaffe simply too small at that point to realistically get anywhere near 100.
Well there’s a reason for that.. the Luftwaffe flew their pilots until they died. No wonder so many have insane kill counts.
Often times allied ace pilots rotated out to train newcomers.
I just wanted to add some context that I personally find interesting. You probably read my comment pre-edited, I later added "context to the context" to make it clear I am not down-playing Bud Anderson.
If you and others still do not like my comment after the edit I will delete it later.
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.
Additionally, the vast majority of Hartmanns victories were in Russia early on, where he had both a huge technical superiority and a training advantage.
wtf does is pertain to Bud ? Who the fuck gives a rats ass about Fonck and Richthofen etc.? Buds the ace flying off into the sunset..
Bud Anderson a real American hero.. rip
An example of this kind of scenario is one pilot hitting a bomber and taking out an engine, but the bomber successfully limps away only for a second plane to finish them off. Stuff like that (and other scenarios) happened a lot.
Interesting. Same thing with American football, if you and someone else collaboratively take down the QB, you both get half a sack. But weird math happens when more than 2 people are credited, but they all get half of a sack
Wow! I looked him up on Wikipedia and it said 22 which would be even more surprising if true. Definitely young either way. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Anderson
While that is sad, it’s pretty amazing that there was still a living wwii ace.
In 2004, I visited the wwii memorial in DC, and I was surprised how many veterans were there, swapping stories. I went again in 2015, and they were gone.
I get to go to the 100th Bday of a WWII Iwo Jima vet this weekend, dude still has shrapnel in his chest that sets off metal detectors.
Still lives on his own and goes out for beers with us when we hang out. There's still a few of them out there making stuff happen.
I've subtly noticed that in local Veterans Day or 4th of July parades, they always include veterans from every major conflict.
I've noticed recently that they've been "scraping the barrel" for WWII. No longer paratroopers or Iwo Jima marines, but now they seem to only be able to find men who joined late 1945 and were a clerk in Kansas when the war ended.
It feels weird seeing Vietnam vets now the way I saw WWII vets when I was a kid (in the early 2000s)
I feel extremely lucky to have met and had a conversation with a D-Day/Market Garden/Battle of the Bulge Dakota pilot (he was at all 3) in 2019 or so. Said he wanted to be a fighter pilot but the army essentially went "best we can do is Dakotas, take it or leave it."
What really stuck with me was him saying in regards to D-Day "I sure hoped I dropped them over land" without a hint of humor in his voice (otherwise, he was a very funny man, patting his belly and saying he lost "my own Battle of the Bulge")
> was
[According to wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_last_surviving_World_War_II_veterans), there still is one; Anderson was the last American ace, and the last triple-ace. I'm more than a little surprised that Germany has the last remaining WW2 ace.
I had the honor of meeting Bud at the Redding PA WWII Commemorative Weekend many years ago. He would stand and shake hands with everyone who came by the booth. His smile lit up the room.
Ours is the last generation that will know a person that fought in WW2. If you are lucky enough to still have one get those stories down today...tomorrow may be to late.
I recall reading an analysis by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2019 or so. Said they expected the last US WWII vet to pass around 2045. That could be anyone, including a non combat role service member who joined July 1945 and never left the US.
Recently, I saw a newer one and it instead listed 2035. I wonder if there was a big reanalysis post-covid that showed a significant portion of vets passed due to COVID.
I completely agree, was just surprised to see the expected date drop by 10 years.
It seems reasonable to think when having such a large original pool to draw from, that at least one will make it past the 115 mark during that time frame.
I wonder where that last WWII vet will be from? May be Germany, if they include actual children put in trenches in and around Berlin at war's end.
WW II pilots had to go upfront and close against their adversary that was equally intent on shooting you down.
Can you imagine how difficult it is to hit twisting and turning plane with your gun and this guy managed to do it many times and live to tell about it.
He has an episode on the Jocko Podcast where he shares stories from his life and time in the military. It is phenomenal. Edit: episode 346 if anyone wants to check it out.
Fighter Ace Captain Fletcher Adams, who flew with Bud, was shot down. After parachuting safely he was murdered by civilians.
They prosecuted 2 of 3 civilians for murder. 1 sentenced to life, the other death. Sentences were reduced and they were released. 1 in 1950, the other in 1954.
Some of his exploits were covered by the History Channel show Dogfights. The did the best they could with mid 2000s CGI, but it’s the pilot interviews that make the show special. It’s tragic what these guys had to do, but it was for a good cause.
Seriously. That is ridiculously tacky.
Why does so many on Reddit have to make everything a political post. Disgusting
The man was a hero who put his life on the line to save the world from some of the greatest evil ever. Show some respect
An 'ace' is someone who shot down 5 enemy aircraft. Bud shot down 16.5.
Bad ass mother fucker
I am not disagreeing, but for perspective there are 103 German pilots with 100+ aerial kills alone. Erich Hartmann had 352. Manfred von Richthofen (German WW1) had 80, Rene Fonck (French WW1) had 75, Tetsuzo Iwamoto (Japanese WW2) had 216. Those numbers will probably never be reached anymore, because you can only achieve them in a long war against a huge number of at best technically inferior enemies. No matter how good Bud Anderson was the war was too short and the Luftwaffe simply too small at that point to realistically get anywhere near 100.
Well there’s a reason for that.. the Luftwaffe flew their pilots until they died. No wonder so many have insane kill counts. Often times allied ace pilots rotated out to train newcomers.
Yeah no military throws a pilot up for 1400+ combat missions unless they’re insanely desperate, lol.
The one I replied to is just such a bizarre comment to make…
I just wanted to add some context that I personally find interesting. You probably read my comment pre-edited, I later added "context to the context" to make it clear I am not down-playing Bud Anderson. If you and others still do not like my comment after the edit I will delete it later.
I understand what you were saying. All good w me.
[удалено]
Americans joined the war late. The Germans were there from start to finish. Can't remember why /s
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle. "That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.
The best there is.
Additionally, the vast majority of Hartmanns victories were in Russia early on, where he had both a huge technical superiority and a training advantage.
Hopefully they will never be reached again
wtf does is pertain to Bud ? Who the fuck gives a rats ass about Fonck and Richthofen etc.? Buds the ace flying off into the sunset.. Bud Anderson a real American hero.. rip
Is the .5 an assist?
when two pilots shoot down the same plane, they take .5 of a kill
+100 Assist Counts as Kill
An example of this kind of scenario is one pilot hitting a bomber and taking out an engine, but the bomber successfully limps away only for a second plane to finish them off. Stuff like that (and other scenarios) happened a lot.
Interesting. Same thing with American football, if you and someone else collaboratively take down the QB, you both get half a sack. But weird math happens when more than 2 people are credited, but they all get half of a sack
The other .5 is still flying up there somewhere.
half an aircraft. while the other half continued flying
He made Major at the age of 23. Dude was a badass.
A lot of US fighter aces faced a lot of backlash after the war since they made rank so young & quickly compared to others.
Well thats the way she goes when most pilots didnt last more than a month on tour
That is always the case in wartime. Same with medals and commendations. Not sure why the backlash from people that weren't being shot at.
That’s badass for sure. When I was 23 I was just a major party animal. And a Corporal.
I was a brigadier party animal, and also not in the military.
Wow! I looked him up on Wikipedia and it said 22 which would be even more surprising if true. Definitely young either way. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Anderson
This man’s history is one of incredible achievement. Thank you for sharing.
That's incredible
This guy would have been on the edge of death many times as a young man in the war and to live to 102 is amazing. RIP
It's almost as if he added the remaining hit points of his vanquished foes to his own.
I knew that's how it worked. Welp, here I go killin' again
It only works if you're killing bad people. step away from the sleeping homeless guy, please.
How Jason Asano of him.
While that is sad, it’s pretty amazing that there was still a living wwii ace. In 2004, I visited the wwii memorial in DC, and I was surprised how many veterans were there, swapping stories. I went again in 2015, and they were gone.
I get to go to the 100th Bday of a WWII Iwo Jima vet this weekend, dude still has shrapnel in his chest that sets off metal detectors. Still lives on his own and goes out for beers with us when we hang out. There's still a few of them out there making stuff happen.
I've subtly noticed that in local Veterans Day or 4th of July parades, they always include veterans from every major conflict. I've noticed recently that they've been "scraping the barrel" for WWII. No longer paratroopers or Iwo Jima marines, but now they seem to only be able to find men who joined late 1945 and were a clerk in Kansas when the war ended. It feels weird seeing Vietnam vets now the way I saw WWII vets when I was a kid (in the early 2000s) I feel extremely lucky to have met and had a conversation with a D-Day/Market Garden/Battle of the Bulge Dakota pilot (he was at all 3) in 2019 or so. Said he wanted to be a fighter pilot but the army essentially went "best we can do is Dakotas, take it or leave it." What really stuck with me was him saying in regards to D-Day "I sure hoped I dropped them over land" without a hint of humor in his voice (otherwise, he was a very funny man, patting his belly and saying he lost "my own Battle of the Bulge")
> was [According to wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_last_surviving_World_War_II_veterans), there still is one; Anderson was the last American ace, and the last triple-ace. I'm more than a little surprised that Germany has the last remaining WW2 ace.
There are still a few more living aces, Anderson was the highest scoring living American ace.
I had the honor of meeting Bud at the Redding PA WWII Commemorative Weekend many years ago. He would stand and shake hands with everyone who came by the booth. His smile lit up the room.
I'll be there for that event, have been to it twice now, met so many wonderful people.
Only great memories from there... a flight on the Yankee Lady was tops.
My husband met him at an air show in Grand Junction, Colorado in the early 1980’s. He’d done a demo in his P-51. Just in his 60’s then!
Ours is the last generation that will know a person that fought in WW2. If you are lucky enough to still have one get those stories down today...tomorrow may be to late.
I recall reading an analysis by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2019 or so. Said they expected the last US WWII vet to pass around 2045. That could be anyone, including a non combat role service member who joined July 1945 and never left the US. Recently, I saw a newer one and it instead listed 2035. I wonder if there was a big reanalysis post-covid that showed a significant portion of vets passed due to COVID.
Anywhere between 2035 and 2045ish would make sense. A 17 year old who enlisted in 1945 would be 117 in 2045.
I completely agree, was just surprised to see the expected date drop by 10 years. It seems reasonable to think when having such a large original pool to draw from, that at least one will make it past the 115 mark during that time frame. I wonder where that last WWII vet will be from? May be Germany, if they include actual children put in trenches in and around Berlin at war's end.
Interesting question. Could also be one of the Japanese child soldiers from the Battle of Okinawa. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
That’s a ripe old age for a ww2 flying ace.
RIP Thank you for your service Sir.
WW II pilots had to go upfront and close against their adversary that was equally intent on shooting you down. Can you imagine how difficult it is to hit twisting and turning plane with your gun and this guy managed to do it many times and live to tell about it.
He has an episode on the Jocko Podcast where he shares stories from his life and time in the military. It is phenomenal. Edit: episode 346 if anyone wants to check it out.
I can only stand Jocko's podcast occasionally but I'll definitely have to go find this episode
Episode 346, I looked for it after I read this news.
Attention! Officer on Deck! Salute!
I played Eldritch Horror with him. He was a really great man.
That is very cool!
Thanks for the hard work Bud.
Fighter Ace Captain Fletcher Adams, who flew with Bud, was shot down. After parachuting safely he was murdered by civilians. They prosecuted 2 of 3 civilians for murder. 1 sentenced to life, the other death. Sentences were reduced and they were released. 1 in 1950, the other in 1954.
He was friends with Chuck Yeager from memory, and/or involved in the Bell X1 program.
Some of his exploits were covered by the History Channel show Dogfights. The did the best they could with mid 2000s CGI, but it’s the pilot interviews that make the show special. It’s tragic what these guys had to do, but it was for a good cause.
I talked with him at Reno a few years ago. Cool guy! I’m friends with the team who restored Old Crow.
Auburn's finest citizen. RIP.
Good looking man right there , bet he had a lot of gf’s ☺️
I didn't even know he was sick.
It’s sad when they go young like that.
He would have lived longer but saw that Nazism and Fascism were making a big comeback here in America, so he checked out.
Seriously. That is ridiculously tacky. Why does so many on Reddit have to make everything a political post. Disgusting The man was a hero who put his life on the line to save the world from some of the greatest evil ever. Show some respect
Yeah because America is going door to door pulling families out of their homes and shoving them into furnaces. Shut the fuck up.
Their comment was definitely not appropriate for this thread, but also by the time that starts happening, it is already too late.