Bud (Walter) Lawrence - WA0FVX (SK)
Bud enlisted in the Army Air Force in September of 1942. He was assigned to the 8th Army Air Force, 44th Bomb Group, 506th Squadron. Bud was stationed in England and flew missions over Europe in a B-24 bomber. He was a left waist gunner and assistant engineer.
Bud's first mission was to Hamm, Germany. On April 22, 1944 while on his 21st combat mission, His plane was shot down over Magdeburg, Germany. Of the nine crew members on board, only Bud and two others survived. They were captured as soon as their feet touched the ground after parachuting out of the stricken aircraft.
The three surviving crew members were initially taken to Stalag Luft 4 in north Poland near the Baltic Sea. Bud was later transferred to Stalag 357 where he remained as a prisoner-of-war until April 16, 1945 when the camp was liberated by a British Armored Division.
In Bud's words, "That was a busy three years!"
Editor's note: Sadly, Bud passed on to the next plane on 4 APR 2020. We'll miss him.
73 - Bud Lawrence, WA0FVX, AFFC #282