WWII heroes honored at Hillmen Tailgater party

"Celebrating Hillmen Heroes" is the theme of this year's Hillmen Foundation Tailgater event.Special honorees include World War II fighter Aces Clarence "Bud" Anderson and Dean "Diz" Laird, both of whom graduated from Placer High in 1939. Both now 98 years old, the former classmates were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2015 for their service during the war.Also being honored are members of the 1977 state champion football team from Placer High.Approximately 1,500 American pilots earned Aces from World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined. Fewer than 30 are alive today. Anderson and Laird are the only two Aces that were high school classmates. A pilot achieves Ace status by shooting down five or more enemy planes. More about Bud AndersonAnderson got his pilot's license as soon as he graduated from Placer High. He joined the Army Air Corps the day he turned 20, the first day he was eligible. The future Ace went to war shortly after Pearl Harbor.He completed two tours of combat in the European Theater during World War II, flew 116 missions, and shot down 16-1/4 enemy aircraft in aerial combat. He also flew the F105 fighter jet in bombing strikes against Communist targets during the Vietnam War. Overall, Anderson served 30 years of continuous military service.Twelve years of his career were spent as a military test pilot serving at Wright Field in Ohio and Edwards Air Force Base in California.Anderson's career spanned 60 years of flying as a fighter pilot and test pilot. He has flown more than 100 different types of aircraft and logged about 10,000 hours in the air. Decorated 26 times, the Placer grad was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2008. Anderson is retired and resides in Auburn. He holds the distinction of being the nation's highest scoring living Ace pilot. More about Diz LairdHis classmate Laird, a Loomis native, was active on the Placer High campus as a member of the student council, serving as the school treasurer. He played football and joined the ski club and Bridge club.He holds the distinction as the only Navy Ace to have shot down both German and Japanese planes. Laird also has qualified to fly more than 100 aircraft and he's flown approximately 3,600 hours in jets and 4,600 hours in prop planes.After the war, he continued flying. In 1949 he won the National Air Races, achieving the fastest speed record at the time, averaging 549 miles per hour flying an F2H Banshee from the USS Midway in the Atlantic to Cleveland, Ohio.Hollywood recognized his abilities, also. Laird flew more than 160 hours filming the movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!" as one of the lead stunt pilots.Congress recognized his accomplishments and awarded him the Congressional Gold Medal in 2015. Last year, he returned to Washington, D.C., where the American Veterans Center presented him with the Audie Murphy Award for Valor, their highest honor.He currently lives in Walnut Creek. More about 1977's HillmenThe 1977 powerhouse football team finished the season 11-0 and was named the No. 1 Division II team in the state by Cal-Hi sports in the days before state-wide playoffs. The Hillmen that year went undefeated in the Sierra Foothill League, and won the Section and Northern California championships as well en route to their being named No. 1 in the state.In the process, they outscored their opponents 297-91, recording six shutouts under the coaching of Bill Miller and Tom Johnson. Tailgater detailsThe Tailgater is hosted by UAIC and will be 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sept. 27 held in Central Square at Lewis Street in Auburn. Attendees will enjoy Crooked Lane beer, Vina Castellano wines, and food from Local Heroes Restaurant. Radio KAHI will broadcast the JV game at the event. Following the Tailgater, attendees can join a procession into LeFebvre Stadium for a Hillmen Heroes recognition before the game against Bay Area powerhouse Bishop O'Dowd.Tickets for the Tailgater are $20 presale and $25 at the door and can be purchased through Eventbrite-Hillmen Foundation Tailgater. For more information, visit thehillmenfoundation.org.