Happy Birthday, Bud! Auburn celebrates as World War II Triple Ace pilot Anderson turns 100

Bud Anderson became an American war hero by fighting for and defending his country in the unfriendly sky of Germany during World War II. Upon turning 100 years old Thursday, Jan. 13, the city of Auburn honored the last living Triple Ace pilot with a celebration that left the local legend "blown away." More than 200 people attended the birthday party for Col. CE "Bud" Anderson on Saturday at the Auburn Airport. Tom Dwelle hosted the party at his hangar, where restored replicas of Anderson's P-51B and P-51D Mustang "Old Crow" fighters flanked numerous tables for guests. Attendees included Anderson's children, son Jim and daughter Kitty, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who watched as he received well wishes from many onstage and on video, including journalist and TV personality David Hartman. Theresa Eaman, dressed in 1940s attire, began the celebration by singing the national anthem and finished it with a beautiful arrangement of "God Bless America." In between, Anderson's favorite singer serenaded him with his favorite song, "I'll Be Seeing You," and led the gathered crowd in singing "Happy Birthday." Jim Anderson thanked the many people who helped arrange and carry out the party. In an interview with the Auburn Journal, he said his dad has "been blessed by so many people that love him." "To have him make it to 100 is almost a miracle, and he's had an unbelievable life," Jim Anderson said. "I did a little research and found out that sliced bread was invented in 1928, so he's older than sliced bread. I like to tease him. But he's been so fortunate and blessed by God to have all these airplanes restored the way he flew them. … All I try to do is, anything he would like, I try to make it happen." An impressive 26-minute video included past interviews with Anderson, who talks about his missions during World War II and describes what went on as he battled German fighter pilots in the air. He spent considerable time greeting and talking to people and posing for photos. He was joined on stage by Diz Laird, noting with a chuckle, "He's an old guy. In a couple months, he'll be 101. How about that?" Laird said he and Anderson met at about the age of 12, when Anderson "crashed my Boy Scout meeting in Loomis." They became good friends at Placer High School and graduated in the class of 1939 and have known each other close to 90 years. Laird joined the Navy while Anderson went into the Army Air Corps. Anderson said Laird is the only pilot to shoot down planes in the Pacific and over Germany in addition to becoming an ace. "Can you imagine two guys from the same high school class became aces during World War II?" Anderson said. Close friend and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jack Roush began his speech with an apology to Anderson. "I actually tried to kill him twice," Roush said to laughter, sharing stories about aircraft mishaps, one involving a P-51D Mustang at the 357th Fighter Group reunion in Myrtle Beach in 1994, the other occurring when Roush said he "had the harebrain idea to replace sodium in the exhaust valves with lithium." "We've had a lot of fun flying together," Roush said. "It's been a chapter of my life that has made my life more meaningful to know that I am humbled to be in his presence. Anyway, congratulations on 100 years. I'm glad I didn't screw it up for you. Enjoy the day, pal. You deserve it." Lisa B. Mara, Senior District Advisor to Congressman Doug LaMalfa of the 1st District of California, choked up as she presented Anderson with a Congressional Record, saying, "Thank you so much for impacting all of our lives. Thank you for inspiring America's children and Britain's children and all the other children around the world you have inspired." Mara added Anderson was honored last week on the floor of Congress. She was accompanied by young son Caden, a ball of energy in full aviator attire who jumped onto, and off of, the stage and wished Anderson a happy birthday. "I'm blown away by this party," he said to applause. "I want to thank everybody that had anything to do with it. … I'm at a loss for words really. "People keep asking me, what do you hope for the future? I hope I see the future when we can burn all these damn masks and get rid of them," he said to cheers and laughter. "For all the young ones out here, I'll tell you, live your dreams. That's kind of my motto. I've lived my dreams so many times you can't believe it. I wanted to be a pilot. I wanted to be an ace. I wanted to be a test pilot. I wanted to do this, that, I got to do it because I lived my dreams, and you can do it if you want to do it. "I certainly thank all of you. I got two talks: My (short) talk is thank you, and my long talk is thank you very much. I think we've had enough talk, and I'll say good night to you all, and I thank you dearly for coming," Anderson said as the crowd rose for a standing ovation.