[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 101 (Wednesday, June 18, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1260-E1261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         IN HONOR OF BRIGADIER GENERAL WALTER J. ``BUD'' BACON

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 18, 2008

  Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I wish to honor a man whose professional 
accomplishments and personal character have brought great distinction 
to Tennessee and this Nation.
  Retired U.S. Air Force BG Walter J. ``Bud'' Bacon passed away on 
Monday, June 2, 2008. General Bacon was always very kind to me and is a 
man for whom I have the greatest respect.
  As a Vietnam and Korean War Veteran, General Bacon earned many 
decorations and awards, including the Legion of Merit with oak leaf 
cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters, Bronze 
Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with 11 oak leaf 
clusters and Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster.
  For a man of many remarkable military achievements, it would have 
been easy for General Bacon to lose touch with his roots. This was 
never the case. After his retirement, General Bacon was a vocal, active 
presence at Knoxville area Veterans meetings and a founding member of 
the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association. Memories of his 
humor, humility, and devotion to East Tennessee will endure for many, 
many years.
  General Bacon's life is a truly America story of Patriotic 
determination. He had always wanted to attend West Point but was turned 
down twice for not meeting the height requirement. As the story goes, 
he came up with a plan to have his friends carry him lying flat early 
in the morning to the physical. The reason--he heard you were tallest 
when you first wake up.
  Whether the doctor was impressed with his determination or the tactic 
truly put his height over the top, General Bacon went on to have one of 
the greatest careers in the Air Force of any man ever. It was an 
American dream come true.
  General Bacon loved God, family, and his Country, and never stopped 
serving them all. Right up until his death, the highly-decorated 
General greeted wounded soldiers returning home from Iraq.
  Madam Speaker, in closing, I offer my condolences to General Bacon's 
family, and call to the attention of my colleagues and other leaders of 
the Record the eulogy of General Bacon, given by his friend Retired 
United States Air Force COL Joseph E. Sutter, which is reprinted below.

  Eulogy for Brigadier General Walter J. ``Bud'' Bacon, USAF (Retired)

     Friday, June 6, 2008, First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, TN

        (Delivered by Joseph E. Sutter, Colonel, USAF (Retired))

       Joyce, Betsey, Katy, and all of your families--let me thank 
     you for the honor and high privilege to say a few words about 
     my friend, Bud Bacon. I knew him as ``Bud,'' and for some 
     reason he called me ``Josephine.'' I can't say that I ever 
     knew why.
       Some of you knew him as ``Buddy.'' Some as ``General.'' 
     Others as ``Pa,'' and some of you knew him as ``Grand 
     Buddy.'' No matter--we all felt the same about him.
       I first met him some 14 years ago, and I certainly wish I 
     had known him longer. Within a few weeks of meeting Bud, I 
     remember coming home and telling my wife Geri: ``When I grow 
     up, I want to be like Bud Bacon.'' Allow me to share with you 
     a few of the reasons why.
       Bud had a great attitude about life. One of the entries in 
     the blogs in the Knoxville News Sentinel said that Bud Bacon 
     had the attitude that the ``glass is half full.'' He was 
     always happy, and had an infectious laugh. As his daughter 
     Betsey relates, her father was fond of saying: ``If I die 
     tonight, I will die a happy man.''
       He had the love of his family--actually two families. He 
     loved to travel. He loved his country, and made serving his 
     country his profession. I'll say more about this a little 
     later. And he loved his God.


                           Love of Community

       Bud loved his community. He came home after a distinguished 
     Air Force career and immediately began to ``give back'' by 
     supporting so many worthwhile activities, including the 
     Ramsay House Plantation, the Military Order of the World Wars 
     (MOWW) Youth Leadership Forum, the University of Tennessee 
     Center for the Study of War and Society, the Knoxville 
     Veterans Day Luncheon, Memorial Day Services, Pearl Harbor 
     Day Ceremonies, Flag Day Ceremonies, the Air Force 
     Association, and so many others too numerous to mention.


                            Love of Friends

       Bud had the love of so many friends, and he would go ``the 
     extra mile'' for any of them. Allow me to tell you a short 
     story of how he went not only the extra mile for me, but the 
     extra 6,000 miles! Geri and I were visiting Vienna, Austria, 
     a number of years ago and were window shopping on a Saturday 
     afternoon. There was a unique terry cloth robe in one of the 
     stores that I wanted to get

[[Page E1261]]

     for Geri, but she said that we could wait until tomorrow so 
     we would not have to carry it the rest of the day. What we 
     did not realize is that most of the shops are closed on 
     Sunday, and we were returning home the following day.I 
     casually mentioned this story to Bud a few weeks later, and 
     he said that he and Joyce were visiting Vienna soon, and he 
     would look for the robe. Sure enough, when they returned they 
     brought the robe over, and it remains a prized possession 
     today mainly because of the extra effort that Bud put forth 
     to get it.
       He was always looking to do good thing for others. He 
     nominated me for a community service award, and I nominated 
     him for a similar award. As it turns out, he was a better 
     writer than me! (I won and he did not).
       On Wednesday, May 21st, Bud came to the Knoxville airport 
     early in the morning to wish a safe trip to more than 100 
     World War II veterans heading to Washington, DC, to see the 
     WW II and other Memorials as part of HonorAir Knoxville. We 
     were looking at the pictures of the sendoff the other day and 
     there wasBud with a big smile on his face wishing the ``old 
     timers'' a great trip. When I talked to him that morning, he 
     said he was heading off to Green Meadow Country Club to play 
     golf after we left.


                              Love of Golf

       And while Bud certainly had a love of golf, he freely would 
     admit that he was not the greatest golfer in the world, but 
     he always had fun. When I would ask him how he did, his usual 
     answer was ``lousy!'' Bud and I had the same barber, Curry 
     Whittaker of Volunteer Barber Shop. Both Bud and Curry were 
     left-handed golfers, and Curry offered to let Bud use a new 
     driver that should help improve his game. Bud was excited, 
     but the next time he came into the shop he tossed the driver 
     back to Curry and said: ``This thing didn't help a bit!''
       And he enjoyed golf with his brother, John. My brother 
     Frank and I were on a golf trip together last week and we 
     thought of Bud often. This helped us cherish our time 
     together even more.
       And one final golf story. Shortly after I met Bud, we were 
     together at an Air Force Association (AFA) meeting and agreed 
     that it would be fun for the local AFA chapter to sponsor a 
     golf tournament. After trying for more than a year to find 
     someone to come forward and organize the tourney, Bud and I 
     agreed that we would hold one in the fall, even if it was 
     only the two of us playing together at Green Meadow. The 
     annual event is now in its tenth year, and with the approval 
     of Joyce, the tourney will now be named in his honor: ``The 
     Air Force Association General Bud Bacon Memorial Golf 
     Classic.'' Bud would want all of you golfers to join us this 
     fall for fun, and what a great way to honor his legacy.


                            Love of Country

       And perhaps his love was most on display in how he felt 
     about his country. I'm sure many of you know how he got 
     admitted to West Point, but let me share with you one of the 
     versions of that wonderful story. Bud was too short--he did 
     not meet the minimum height to be admitted so he enrolled at 
     the University of Tennessee. After being turned down at West 
     Point for the second time, he heard that you are a little bit 
     taller in the morning when you first get up, as compared to 
     later in the day when your body has time to compress or 
     shrink. He hatched a plan to have some of his friends carry 
     him to be measured first thing in the morning, without 
     standing up. Depending on whose version of the story you 
     believe, he either just made the height, or the doctor was 
     impressed by his dogged determination and signed off on the 
     physical. In either case, the rest is history--he went on to 
     a very distinguished career in the US Air Force. He used this 
     story to make the point that ``. . . if you want something 
     bad enough, you can achieve it.'' Who would have thought that 
     someone could actually make himself taller? He may have been 
     short in stature, but he was very tall on determination and 
     character!
       In the Air Force, he was tested in combat in two wars: 
     Korea and Vietnam. His unit in Vietnam was known as the 
     ``Misty FACs,'' or forward air controllers. According to 
     Bud's friend and fellow fighter pilot, retired Air Force 
     Colonel Charlie Harr: ``The Misty FACs were among the first 
     to perform a very dangerous mission. They were widely known 
     for their daring and bravery.''
       Bud had command of the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing at 
     Homestead AFB, FL, later in his career. I spoke to one of his 
     pilots that I know, retired Air Force Lt. General Don 
     Peterson. Here is what Don had to say:

       ``His leadership at Homestead was splendid. He knew how to 
     lead and get the job done, but just as importantly, he knew 
     how to take care of the people who served under him. He was a 
     role model for us all. Our morale was higher than ever, which 
     made us all--and our Air Force--better.''

       Bud was an active member of virtually every local military 
     organization, including the Air Force Association, the East 
     Tennessee Military Affairs Council, the East Tennessee 
     Veterans Memorial Association, and he was the driving force 
     behind the renovation of the Doughboy Statue and Plaza at 
     Knoxville High School, his alma mater.
       He was the Grand Marshall of the 2004 Knoxville Veterans 
     Day Parade. I know you all remember the wonderful picture of 
     Bud that appeared in the News Sentinel--proudly in uniform, 
     saluting, smiling, and with several flags in his hand. I have 
     a copy of that picture with me today.
       It's clear that he deeply loved our country's flag and 
     proudly and properly displayed it at his home. He always had 
     it lighted at night and would take it down when he and Joyce 
     traveled. Joyce would say that he might forget a few things 
     from time to time, but would never forget to take down the 
     flag.
       And he planned the music for this service. Is there any 
     doubt that he loved his country?
       Finally, Bud sent an e-mail to his grandson Schuyler, a 
     proud Marine who had recently returned from Iraq. Bud wrote 
     the e-mail on Friday, May 23rd, the day before he took ill. 
     What a summary of Bud's feelings. This is what Bud had to 
     say--his own words:

     Subject: ``Words of Encouragement''

       If I may quote you, Schuyler, you said: ``I believe 
     strongly in what we're doing. . . .'' Those are, again in 
     your words, words of encouragement to me. Those of us in 
     uniform are obedient to our leaders and commanders, and we 
     believe in the rights and privileges we have inherited--from 
     those who went before us, in uniform and not in uniform. We 
     are not automatons; we do have hearts and souls and minds of 
     our own. But we recognize we are chosen to do the tough 
     work--when tough work has to be done.
       The pictures of you in uniform and in combat are treasures; 
     you look as sturdy as the truck. You have made the Bacon 
     family proud. Keep us informed of your progress toward 
     special operations.
       Love, Grand Bud


                                 Faith

       Finally, we know that faith was large part of his life. Bud 
     taught Sunday school and was a Deacon at this church. The 
     words of Saint Matthew, Chapter 25, seem appropriate to sum 
     things up: ``Well done, good and faithful servant.''
       I know we all believe that Bud is in heaven with our God in 
     Paradise. It doesn't get any better than that.
       That is why, ``When I grow up, I want to be like Bud 
     Bacon.''

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