George E. “Bud” Day Flight Flight #61 Press Release

The George E. “Bud” Day Flight, Flight #61, in Fort Walton Beach, Florida wrapped up an outstanding year at our December meeting and Holiday Party on Eglin AFB, December 11th.

Over the past year, the Flight has supported seven local high school Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) detachments, including Army, Navy, and Air Force units; provided Daedalian Flight Training Scholarships to five deserving future aviators; and awarded academic scholarships of nearly $20,000 to four outstanding students who aspire to a career as a military officer, now attending the University of West Florida, the University of Central Florida, the University of South Alabama, and Auburn University.

Also, during the just concluded calendar year, our Flight namesake and recipient, George E. “Bud” Day, was posthumously advanced to the rank of Brigadier General by order of the President.

A final milestone for the Bud Day Flight was the installation of our 2019 Flight Staff, led by Dr. Richard P. “Dick” Hallion (Senior Executive Service, Retired), our Flight’s only Honorary Daedalian and one of only eight Honorary Members of our National Order.

Dr. Hallion is a distinguished aerospace historian and former Curator of Space Science, National Air and Space Museum; Air Force Flight Test Center Chief Historian; Executive Historian for Air Force Special Programs (HQ AF Systems Command); and Air Force Historian (HQ USAF) from 1991-2002. Although not a pilot, he has flying experience in more than thirty different types of aircraft; and has provided countless presentations, authored ten books and over seventy articles, and published numerous papers on aerospace, airpower, and military history. He remains active with the National Air and Space Museum, the Institute for Defense Analyses, the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, and the Royal Air Force Centre for Air Power Studies, among others. Dr. Hallion also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Florida Polytechnic Dr. Dick Hallion and 2018 Flight University. COL Randy Oliver According to National Headquarters, Dr. Hallion will become the first Honorary Member to serve as a Flight Captain.