Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) delivered an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and fellow Vietnam War prisoner of war, retired Col. Bud Day who died on July 27 in Florida at age 88. “We met in 1967, when the Vietnamese left me to die in the prison cell Bud shared with Maj. Norris Overly. But, Bud and Norris wouldn’t let me die. They bathed me, fed me, nursed me, encouraged me, and ordered me back to life,” said McCain in his July 29 speech on the Senate floor. McCain said Day did this despite the fact that he, too, “had recently been near death” after his shootdown and subsequent injuries, capture, and torture. McCain said Day was not only his commanding officer, but also his inspiration during those difficult years in captivity. Witnessing Day sing the US national anthem as a North Vietnamese guard pointed a rifle at Day’s face was “something to behold,” said McCain. Day’s contribution to the US military and to his fellow POWs is something McCain said he would never forget. “Bud was the bravest man I ever knew,” he said. “I will miss Bud every day for the rest of my life.”
Celebrating 100 Years of Liquid-Fueled Rockets
March 11, 2026
March 16, 2026, marks 100 years since Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket. Over the past century, new and ever more capable liquid-fueled rockets have literally propelled humanity into space. Why liquid-fueled rockets?