On March 30, 2026, we honored the life and legacy of Col. (Ret.) Bud Anderson, America's last triple ace pilot of World War II.
He was a legendary pilot, but above all, a lifelong patriot to his country. In the air and beyond, his funeral marks a reflection of a life that's inspired generations.
His legacy will live in the skies he journeyed, forever embedded in the freedom he helped defend.
(U.S. Army Video by Derek Patterson / Arlington National Cemetery)
Richard A. Kibbey Jr. was only 12 years old when an Air Force chaplain, a lieutenant colonel and an enlisted airman knocked on his family’s front door. “I knew immediately it was not good news,” he remembered. His father and namesake, Col. Richard Kibbey, had been serving in Vietnam as an HH-3E “Jolly Green Giant” helicopter pilot, rescuing downed flight crews. On Feb. 6, 1967, Col. Kibbey and his crew had just rescued a downed Air...
