[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 68 (Thursday, May 17, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S5114]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO ROBERT ``BUD'' CLAY

 Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to a 
World War II veteran who brought hope to an occupied people.
  On May 24th for more than half a century, the residents of the former 
German-occupied Als Island off the coast of Denmark celebrated Robert 
``Bud'' Clay as a hero. However, until recently, Bud was unaware of 
this honor.
  Robert B. Clay was a Lieutenant Colonel in the 351st Bomb Group 
stationed in Polebrook, England during World War II. He was leading a 
B-17 bombing raid when things went terribly wrong. The plane's engines 
started failing one by one. Bud steered the plane toward neutral 
Sweden, but with the failure of an additional engine, it was clear that 
they would be unable to escape enemy territory. After ensuring that 
eight of the ten crewmen had safely bailed out of the plane, Clay and 
his copilot attempted a crash-landing in a nearby grassy clearing on 
Als Island.
  Als Island was first occupied by German troops in 1939. The crashing 
of the B-17 on May 24, 1944 was seen by the people of the island as a 
symbol of approaching liberation. In fact, the plane was such a beacon 
of hope to them that the people of Als Island kept pieces of the 
wrecked B-17 not only as souvenirs but also as near-sacred tokens. One 
woman even made her wedding dress using fabric taken from one of the 
pilot's parachutes.
  All the crewmen in Lieutenant Colonel Clay's plane survived the 
flight, but were taken as prisoners-of-war. Clay was held captive as a 
POW for one year in camps near Sagon, Nuremburg, and finally Mooseburg, 
Germany.
  Then on the 28th of April, 1945, Bud saw the stars and stripes being 
flown from a tall building in an adjacent town. He suddenly realized 
that liberation was on its way. An experience uncannily like the Danes 
who viewed his plane's crash as a harbinger of freedom.
  For 40 years Clay did not speak of his experience. He was the pilot 
of the mission and harbored feelings of guilt and responsibility, for 
the crash, for his crew being taken as POWs, and for not being able to 
finish out other missions.
  However, as he was looking through a war-reunion newsletter two years 
ago, Clay recognized a photograph of the plane wreckage and the hills 
and farmhouses surrounding it. An islander had taken the picture as a 
boy and published the photo and story in hopes of finding the Americans 
whose crash-landing has been celebrated for decades.
  This year will be the first year that Clay will be part of that 
celebration. He and five others from his bomber crew have been invited 
to personally attend the ceremonies that have been held in their honor 
for 56 years.
  Clay will forever live as a hero in the memories of Als Island 
people. He has received e-mails and letters from them expressing their 
thanks. They have told him that seeing his plane helped them realize 
for the first time that help was on the way. I am very proud that this 
great man, who continues to serve in his local community, will finally 
receive the personal recognition he earned so long ago.

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