Catherine Rusoff
The last surviving World War II triple ace pilot died this week at age 102, more than 75 years after serving in the U.S. Air Force and flying missions over Europe, the Washington Post reported.
Brigadier General Clarence E. Anderson, better known as “Bud,” died peacefully in his sleep on May 17, his family said in a statement. statement on your website.
“We were blessed to have him as our father,” the statement read. “Dad lived an incredible life and was loved by many.”
Anderson leaves two children, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. His wife, Eleanor, died in 2015.
Anderson, who was born in California and learned to fly at age 19, served two combat missions during World War II, according to your website. He escorted heavy bombers over Europe from November 1943 to January 1945, flying 116 combat missions and destroying more than a dozen enemy aircraft in aerial combat as part of the 357th Fighter Group, nicknamed the “Yoxford Boys”. He was the highest-scoring ace in his squadron, according to his website.
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Anderson’s other military service included serving as a squadron commander in postwar Korea and as commander of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing during combat in Southeast Asia.
During his military service, Anderson earned 25 medals, including two Legion of Merit, 16 Air Medals and “many campaign and service ribbons,” according to his website. He was also recognized as a ace fighteror a pilot who destroyed five or more enemy aircraft in aerial combat, three times.
When not overseas, Anderson was a fighter test pilot and served in a variety of roles, including serving as deputy director of flight test operations at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. In total, Anderson has logged more than 7,500 flight hours in more than 130 types of aircraft.
Images by Chris Radburn/PA via Getty Images
Anderson retired from the Air Force in 1972 and joined McDonnell Aircraft Company and spent 12 years serving as manager of a test facility at Edwards Air Force Base in California. He retired fully in 1984, published an autobiography in 1990 and stopped flying at age 90, but continued to lecture on the subject and consult on computer flying games, according to his website.
Anderson was introduced into National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2008 and the International Air and Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum in 2013, according to its website. He received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2015. In December 2022, he was promoted honorably to Brigadier General at the California Air and Space Museum.
