MEDAL OF HONOR WINNER TO VISIT CAPE

A Congressional Medal of Honor winner will be the guest at a reception hosted by the Joint Veterans Council Saturday night.

U.S. Air Force Col. George E. Day, veteran of three wars and the most decorated military officer since Gen. Douglass MacArthur, will be at the Drury Lodge at 7 p.m. Saturday. The public is invited.

Tonight, Day was to be honored at halftime of the Sikeston-Jackson football game. On Saturday morning, Day will serve as grand marshal of the Cotton Carnival parade in Sikeston.

A veteran of more than 30 years in the armed forces, Day holds nearly 70 military decorations and awards of which more than 50 are for combat.

He received the Congressional Medal of Honor after his service in Vietnam, during which he was shot down in 1967, captured by the North Vietnamese and held as a prisoner of war for 67 months. Day was the only POW to escape from prison in North Vietnam and later be recaptured by the Viet Cong in the South.

In addition to the Medal of Honor, Day received the Air Force Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with nine Oak Leaf clusters, the Bronze Star for Valor with two Oak Leaf clusters, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart with three clusters.

He was also presented Vietnam's highest medal by the president of that nation, plus two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses and Vietnamese Wings. He wears 12 Campaign Battle Stars.

Day joined the Marine Corps in 1942 and served 30 months in the South Pacific. He received an appointment in the National Guard in 1950.

The next year, he was called to active duty in the Air Force and entered jet pilot training. He served two tours as fighter-bomber pilot during the Korean War.

In April 1967, Day was assigned to a fighter unit in Vietnam. Four months later, he was shot down.

His Medal of Honor citation reads, in part:

"His personal bravery in the face of deadly enemy pressure was significant in saving the lives of fellow aviators who were still flying against the enemy. Col. Day's conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force."

Now 68, Day remains a practicing trial lawyer (having earned his Juris Doctor after World War II) in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. He also lectures extensively on world politics, international law and political geography, in addition to serving on a number of defense and veterans advisory committees.

He is the author of a book ("Return With Honor") about his experiences as a prisoner of war.