Technical Sergeant Paul “Bud” Haedike

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.