Col. Walker 'Bud' Mahurin passed away on May 11, at the age of 91.
Col. Mahurin flew P-47 Thunderbolts with the 56th Fighter Group out of England in 1943 and 1944. He was shot down March 27, 1944 over France, but managed to evade and escape back to England. After leave in the US, he was transferred to the Pacific where he flew P-51s.
Bud was credited with 20.75 German and Japanese 'kills' during the war, making him one of the highest ranking US aces.
During Korea, Col. Mahurin flew F-86 Sabres, shooting down 3 MiG-15s. He was shot down on May 13, 1952, and spent 16 months in a North Korean prison suffering intense interrogation and torture.
Col. Mahurin was the only US flyer to shoot down enemy aircraft in both Europe and the Pacific during WWII, and then in Korea. He retired from military service in 1956, and went to work for North American Aviation in SoCal.
Godspeed, Colonel ...
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