Bud & Dorie Day Patriots' Trail

Bud and Dorie Day Patriots' Trail. . In Honor of Col. George E. “Bud” Day, USAF (Ret.), MOH, and Doris “Dorie" Sorenson Day

Bud and Dorie were both natives of Sioux City, Iowa and later adopted the Fort Walton Beach area as their hometown.

After service in World War II and Korea, Bud was shot down over North Vietnam on August 26, 1967. He spent the next five years, seven months enduring torture and solitary confinement as a POW. While Bud was imprisoned, Dorie campaigned tirelessly for humane treatment of all POWs and for their release. Following Bud's return, they moved to Fort Walton Beach, where Bud was assigned as Vice Wing Commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB.

On March 6, 1976, President Gerald Ford presented Col. Day with the nation's highest award for valor, The Medal of Honor. This honor, along with his others, made him the most decorated airman in US history.

After his retirement from the Air Force, Bud practiced law while he and Dorie raised their four children in nearby Shalimar. Bud's efforts before the Supreme Court of the United States were a major factor in securing medical care for all qualified veterans.

When Col. Day passed away on July 27, 2013, our community offered many suggestions as to how to honor him. It was Dorie who proposed that Bud would like to be remembered by a park in his adopted home town. Dorie's friends in the Fort Walton Beach Woman's Club, under the leadership of Mrs. Cissy Wyninegar, requested this location – a City of Fort Walton Beach-owned right of way along the “California Ditch.” With the fundraising efforts of the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce and the generosity of many organizations and individuals, our community is honored to offer The Bud and Dorie Day Patriots' Trail.