Open Mic

For 18-year-old Texan Travis Budlong, the news that Pearl Harbor had been attacked by the Japanese came as he loaded petroleum onto railroad tank cars in a small Texas town.  He didn’t realize then the enormous damage those bombs struck against the American Pacific fleet, or that his former classmate, Bill Stephens, had been killed in the attack.  But later he would realize the distinction of piloting the B-29 that dropped the last bombs of the war on that same, ruthless foe.

“Back then, if you didn’t join up right away, you felt like a draft dodger,” said Budlong. “So, as soon as they dropped the age restrictions on the Army Air Corps, I joined up!”

Besides delivering the last bombs against “Empire Japan,” he also had the distinction of straddling the very boundaries of war.  When he took off on his last bombing run from Guam airbase on August 14, 1945, Lt. Travis Budlong lived in a world at war. When he landed 14 hours and 45 minutes later, he was living in a world at peace.  President Truman had declared the end the war while he and his crew were airborne.

In the interim, his plane dropped what were probably the very last bombs of the war.  Although the two atom bombs had already been dropped only days before, no surrender had yet been received. Continued, conventional bombing runs were crucial.

Then came the 23rd and final mission for the 22-year-old command pilot.  What he didn’t know then was that that bomber crews who flew their full 30 missions had a meager 29 percent survival rate.  But to a generation of boys called to defend freedom in their teens and early twenties—imminent danger followed as close as their shadow.

“Like all young men our age, we felt we were immortal,” said Budlong. “But then I saw planes full of close friends get hit and go down into those ocean waves hundreds of miles from base, knowing they could not—and would not—be rescued.”

Bearing the last bombs of the war over Japan wasn’t something Budlong had planned. 

In fact, that fateful flight almost never happened.  Budlong’s B-29 was held back with suspected engine failure.  His skipper even ordered his plane to stand down.

Budlong countered that they had never aborted a flight and always hit their primary target—now was not the time to throw in the towel. The superior officer relented and it was “thumbs up” for take off!  His plane took off alone behind the “last wave” of bombers flying from Guam to bomb the industrial center of Kumagoya, Japan.

After seeing their bombs explode in a reddish-orange patchwork across their drop zone, they knew they had hit their targets. What none of them could know at that point was that—in all probability—theirs were the last bombs to fall in World War II.  The young men aboard “City of Gainesville” of the 314th Wing, 330 Bomb Group, 459th Squadron, had flown into the history books.

Those who had survived would return home to their homes and sweethearts and many would live long and productive civilian lives.  Sadly, though, many never came back.

Travis returned home to his beloved Lorna, whom he had married little more than a year previously.  Both had grown up in the North Texas town of Gainesville, just south of the Oklahoma border.  Now, 64 years later, the lovebirds have a new nest called Querencia at Barton Creek—a stylish, senior living resort in Austin, Texas.

That bombing run is now just a subject for animated recollections at their unit reunions. It may indeed have been the last bomb run of World War II, but for Travis and Lorna, it was just the beginning of a long, amazing marriage and family—54 years and counting.

ABOUT QUERENCIA AT BARTON CREEK

Querencia at Barton Creek is a premier life care senior living resort located at Barton Creek Boulevard and Chalk Knoll Drive in Austin, Texas, less than a mile from Barton Creek Resort & Club. The 400,000-square-foot retirement resort features 167 independent living residences, including 10 villas, on 38 acres. 

Residences are available in one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans ranging in size from 830 square feet to more than 2,200 square feet.  The Plaza at Querencia features assisted living apartment homes in one- and two-bedroom designs, memory support suites, and private skilled nursing rooms.

Querencia at Barton Creek is 501(c)3 not-for-profit senior living community owned by Senior Quality Lifestyles Corporation (SQLC), a Texas-based nonprofit organization that owns sister communities Edgemere in Dallas, The Buckingham in Houston, Mirador under development in Corpus Christi, and The Stayton at Museum Way under development in Fort Worth.  For information, visit www.querenciabartoncreek.com, or call (512) 610-9401.