Bud Mahurin

Colonel Walker Melville Mahurin (December 5, 1918 – May 11, 2010) — known as Bud Mahurin — was a United States Air Force (USAF) officer and aviator. During World War II, while serving in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), he was a noted flying ace.

Mahurin was the first American pilot to become a double ace in the European Theater. He was the only United States Air Force pilot to shoot down enemy planes in both the European and Pacific Theaters and the Korean War. During World War II he was credited with 20.75 aerial victories, making him the sixth-highest American P-47 ace. He was credited with shooting down 3.5 MiG-15s in Korea, giving him a total of 24.25 aircraft destroyed in aerial combat.

Biography
Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Mahurin joined the U.S. Army Air Forces as an aviation cadet on September 29, 1941 after several years as an engineering student at Purdue University. Graduating from pilot training on April 29, 1942, he was assigned to the 63d Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group and deployed to England with them in January 1943. Based at Halesworth, England, then Captain Mahurin became a flight leader in the 63rd FS and began flying missions in May.

On August 17, 1943, he scored his first aerial victories by shooting down a pair of German Focke-Wulf Fw 190s while escorting B-17 bombers as part of the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission. One of these fighters was flown by Major Wilhelm "Wutz" Galland, Gruppenkommandeur of II/JG 26, and an ace with some 55 claims to his credit. He became an ace on October 4 after shooting down three Messerschmitt Bf110s. On November 26, Mahurin shot down three more Bf-110s to become the first American pilot in the European Theater of Operations to score 10 aerial victories. His primary aircraft, P-47D-5-RE 42-8487, bore the squadron codes UN:M and was nicknamed The Spirit of Atlantic City, N.J.

Mahurin was promoted to major on March 21, 1944, and on March 27, his P-47 was heavily damaged by a German Dornier Do-217 bomber he helped shoot down, forcing him to bail out. He was picked up by French Resistance forces. On the night of 3–4 May 1944, an RAF Westland Lysander attempted to retrieve Mahurin from France and fly him back to Britain. Before he could be picked up, the aircraft was shot down, and its pilot killed. The event was watched by Mahurin. The next attempt, again by a Lysander, on the night of 6–7 May 1944, was successful. Because of his knowledge of the French Resistance, he was grounded and sent home.

In October, he again shipped overseas as commander of the 3rd Fighter Squadron, the combat element of the composite 3rd Air Commando Group in the Philippines. While based at Mangaldan, Luzon, in January 1945 he was credited with destroying a Japanese bomber. Mahurin was promoted to lieutenant colonel on May 28, 1945, and became commander of the 3rd Air Commando Group in September 1945.

Korean War
At the start of the Korean War in 1950, Mahurin was serving in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. In July 1951 he became commander of the 1st Fighter Group, training in the North American F-86 Sabre. In December he began a 90-day tour of temporary duty with the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing, serving as special assistant to the wing commander, Col. Francis S. Gabreski. Mahurin transferred to the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing on March 18, 1952, to command its 4th Fighter-Interceptor Group. On May 13, 1952, while strafing ground targets, his F-86 was shot down by North Korean ground fire; after crash-landing, breaking his arm, he was captured by enemy forces.

Mahurin spent 16 months in a North Korean prisoner of war (POW) camp. He endured torture that included intense questioning, solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, threats of execution, and brainwashing. While being questioned about claims of the United States' use of biological warfare, he admitted to dropping canisters of insects over North Korea. He was released in September 1953 and retracted his confession. His experience in brainwashing techniques provided the U.S. with invaluable material to develop survival training courses. Nevertheless, he and other returning POWs were condemned by Senator Richard Russell, Jr. and others because of their confessions. He was subsequently promoted to full colonel.

Retirement
In 1956, Mahurin resigned from the U.S. Air Force to accept a senior position in the aviation industry. While the Air Force attributed this to his own choice, stating he was low on the promotion list to permanent colonel and unlikely to make general, a pilot under his command in Korea, Robert Smith, asserts that the Air Force dishonored itself by pressuring Mahurin to resign from the service as a result of political infighting over the confessions, four years short of becoming eligible for retirement benefits.

Aerial victory credits

 * SOURCES: Air Force Historical Study 85: USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II and Air Force Historical Study 81: USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, Korean War, Freeman, The Mighty Eighth

Awards and decorations
Command pilot


 * Distinguished Service Cross ribbon.svg  Distinguished Service Cross


 * SilverStar.gif  Silver Star


 * Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon.svg  Distinguished Flying Cross


 * Purple Heart BAR.svg  Purple Heart


 * Air Medal ribbon.svg  Air Medal with 4 oak leaf clusters


 * American Defense Service ribbon.svg   American Defense Service Medal


 * American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg   American Campaign Medal


 * European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg   European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal


 * Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon.svg     Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal


 * World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg    World War II Victory Medal


 * KSMRib.svg     Korean War Service Medal


 * United Nations Service Medal for Korea ribbon.png United Nations Service Medal


 * National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg  National Defense Service Medal


 * Uk dfc rib.png Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)


 * CdG45.gif Croix de Guerre with Palm (France)


 * BEL Croix de Guerre 1944 ribbon.svg Croix de Guerre, with Palm (Belgium)