Paul “Bud” Haedike was a sixteen-year-old when Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941. Like other young men, Paul was eager to join the military, but had to wait until he was eighteen. Paul got his draft notice on his eighteenth birthday and reported to Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis. In the inductee line, Bud's card was stamped “NAVY", but Bud had other ideas. He pleaded, and they finally changed his card to "ARMY".  Once in, Bud opted for the Army Air Corps. Bud wanted to be a P-51 fighter pilot but had to settle for bombardier on a B-17 Flying Fortress. Bud was shot down on his first mission, but safely crash-landed in Belgium. He went on to fly twenty-two more missions deep into enemy territory and three humanitarian missions, which Bud calls his most rewarding. Bud shares with us the harrowing life of a B-17 air crew member.

Next week's show will feature Airman Bill Fisher, a Vietnam-era Dog Handler.

Bill Fisher was an Air Force Sentry Dog handler at Phan Rang Air Base during the Vietnam War. Each night, they would go out beyond the fence line with their guns on their back, trying to detect the enemy.  They had three objectives:  Detect the enemy, call it in to the tower, and survive if you can. Be sure to tune in as Bill recounts several stories of how his dogs, Wolf and Rex, each saved his life while on patrol.