July 3, 2000

Among the many veterans who will be honored in Provo's Fourth of July Parade Tuesday, there's one with a very special story to tell. He's a hero on an island in the Baltic Sea. And he didn't even know it for 55 years. John Hollenhorst tells his story.

Bud Clay's old uniform still fits like a glove when he dresses up for speeches about his experiences as a bomber pilot. But he didn't even know the best part of his own story until last summer.

Thumbing through a veteran's newspaper he saw a photo of a crashed plane.

BUD CLAY/FORMER P.O.W.: "I STARTED LOOKING AT IT CLOSER AND I RECOGNIZED THIS HOUSE UP HERE ON THE HILL, AND I RECOGNIZED THE WRECK."

It brought a flood of memories. In May 1944, he and his crew took off from England and bombed Berlin. Damaged by anti-aircraft fire, he desperately flew toward neutral Sweden but made it only as far as Nazi-occupied Denmark.

Over the island of Als his crew bailed out. He crash-landed, expecting to die.

BUD CLAY/FORMER P.O.W.: "IT WAS KIND OF LIKE BEING BORN AGAIN, YOU KNOW. ALL THESE STREAKS AND NOISES AS IT CRASHED, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN IT WAS QUIET. SO QUIET I COULD HEAR THE BIRDS SINGING."

He tried to destroy the plane by firing a flare-gun into the fuel tank.

BUD CLAY/FORMER P.O.W.: "BY THAT TIME THERE WERE ABOUT 10 WOMEN AND CHILDREN LINED UP THERE WATCHING ME. AND THIS DOUBLE RIB FLARE ZOOMED UP THERE OVER THEIR HEADS AFTER IT BOUNCED OFF THE PLANE. AND THEY JUST RAN SCREAMING IN ALL DIRECTIONS."

It was a memorable event in a backwater of the war dominated by the Nazis. Clay and his crew were quickly captured and taken to Germany.

BUD CLAY/FORMER P.O.W.: " I COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT AFTER ALL THESE 50 YEARS, HERE WAS A PICTURE OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO ME."

The island resident who took the picture published it, hoping to locate the crew. When Clay's family contacted him, he sent a recent photo of the crash-site where villagers gather every year to pay their respects. The aging Danish photographer explained why in a letter Clay reads aloud.

BUD CLAY/FORMER P.O.W.: "'THE ALLIED AIRMAN WAS OUR HEROES IN WORLD WAR II. AND SEEING THEM UP IN THE SKY GAVE US HOPE IN A DARK TIME IN OUR HISTORY'." Q: "SO YOU WERE A HERO IN DENMARK, AND DIDN'T KNOW IT?" A: "YEAH, I STILL AM! HAH, HAH."

Clay learned that villagers took souvenirs from the plane and still display them in their homes.

Wiping nose; Sniff, sniff; "AND THIS ONE WOMAN TOOK PART OF THE PARACHUTE AND MADE A WEDDING DRESS."

She sent Clay a piece of the old parachute and her 1944 wedding photo. She still has the dress, even though she's now a widow, still living on the island.

BUD CLAY/FORMER P.O.W.: "IT'S A PARTIAL REWARD FOR HOW BITTER I FELT WHEN I GOT HOME FROM BEING A P.O.W. EVEN THOUGH I WAS BITTER, AFTER 50 YEARS I FINALLY OVERCAME THAT FEELING."

JOHN HOLLENHORST REPORTING: "THE PEOPLE ON THE ISLAND HAVE INVITED THE EIGHT SURVIVING MEMBERS OF THAT BOMBER CREW TO COME TO DENMARK NEXT SPRING FOR A REUNION ON THE 57TH ANNIVERSARY. JOHN HOLLENHORST, EYEWITNESS NEWS, SALT LAKE CITY."

To raise money for that trip to Denmark, a P.O.W. Reunion Fund has been set up at Mountain America Credit Union.