“On April 8, 1970, T-Bud took off in his F-100 leading two other F-100s in close air support of a friendly ground unit in contact with an unknown sized hostile force. Despite intense hostile ground fire, low overcast weather, and the extreme closeness of the opposing troops, Colonel Fisher flew multiple bombing and strafing passes, causing the hostile force to break contact and enabling the friendly unit to evacuate its troops. The professional competence, aerial skill and devotion to duty displayed by Colonel Fisher reflects great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
Indeed, the seasoned pilot who dutifully served his country, without reservation, regardless of who was elected President, distinguished himself not only by receiving his second Flying Cross, but also by all the preparation spent cultivating the code he lived by one which answered the call of duty with a resounding yes! His 378th combat mission resulted in this wheels up fighter pilot, unlike so many he had known and respected and lost throughout his career, safely putting his wheels down for one last time. There, on that runway of a milestone, he taxied toward his squadron who waited with Champagne, sufficiently shaken, in celebration of a job well done and a life still living.”(1)
Source: (1) https://www.laughlinservice.com/obituaries/Lt-Col-Clarence-Wayne-Fisher?obId=4360675
Clarence W. “Bud” Fisher, LtCol USAF, Ret., “Headed West” on September 20, 2017.
This is MY commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down ones life for his friends.
John 15:12-13
On the warm afternoon of Wednesday, September 20, 2017, Lt. Colonel Clarence Wayne Fisher, a man whose life spanned nearly a century and who, in those 95 years, actively and willingly offered to lay down his life for friend, family and country, found peace in his Savior, JESUS CHRIST.
Born a Tar Heel on May 4, 1922, T-Bud, as he was affectionately known, grew up in Elizabethtown, North Carolina. The son of farmer and businessman William Ansel Fisher, whom he described as widely known and respected, dedicated to helping people who were desperate during and after the economic collapse of that era, and Lillian Beard Fisher, a schoolteacher, young Clarence learned first-hand that sacrifice born of faith, humility and courage was essential in hopes of living a meaningful, honorable life. In those early years, the ruddy-complexioned young man who rode his horse to school began to distinguish himself.
A born athlete, he pursued sports with vigor. Whether on a football or baseball field or on a basketball or tennis court, T-Bud liked to win. As vice-president of the Glee Club, he began to cultivate a lifelong love of music in the harmonious days of his Elizabethtown youth.
In the fall of 1941, Clarence began his college education at Edwards Military Institute in Salemburg, North Carolina. As his first semester drew to a close, the Japanese opened fire on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor. Though his education at Edwards was short lived, the foreshadowing of a military life is undeniable.
The summer of 1942 began with his signature to serve his country. What indelible ink that oath was written in! In his own January ’44 version of Its A Wonderful Life, this Clarence earned his wings. With a fighter pilot rating and, in his estimation of utmost importance, a sense of humor, 2nd Lieutenant Fisher took to the skies over Europe in defense of his beloved country and countrymen.
Stationed first in Italy, then in Corsica covering the invasion of Southern France, his group then went about supporting the Seventh Army in Southern France through strafing and dive bombing runs. In February of ’45, the now-1st Lieutenant Fisher (315th Ftr. Sq., 324th Ftr. Gp.) found himself in a P-47 over Manheim, Germany. Leading the flight of eight planes through hazardous weather conditions with very limited visibility, the already decorated lieutenant summoned the fighter within as he led a perfectly executed dive bombing run. His commanding officer, in recognizing the extraordinary achievement which resulted in two locomotives and thirty railroad cars being destroyed, described the young lieutenants actions as being executed with customary skill and resourcefulness.
The soon-to-be Captain Fisher was awarded his first Distinguished Flying Cross. By the end of the war, his mother would be notified of her sons heroism on numerous occasions, thirteen of which were marked by an Oak Leaf Cluster and a Citation which characterized his efforts as material contributions to the final defeat of the German forces in Europe. The hometown hero would return to his beloved Elizabethtown, the recipient of the Air Medal, Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon, Army Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Battle Star, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, and the Army of Occupation Medal.
With approximately 900 flying hours under his belt, Captain Fisher spent the next couple of years, it seems, cultivating aviation in his back yard. Fisher Field” would grow out of his enthusiasm and the tobacco fields planted by his now-deceased father. His efforts were considered pioneering to his community, and in 1991 the Elizabethtown Air Show was dedicated in his honor.
In the early 1950s, after spending time studying at Chicago Technical College, Captain Fisher returned to service. In March 1952, he received orders to report no later than the 15th of the month to Craig Air Force Base in Selma, Alabama. He was about to meet the love of his life, Sylvia Sims. The vivacious, beautiful brunette, who, like him, was the baby of her family, instantly flew away with the fighter pilots heart. In the late afternoon of November 27, 1954, around the time that Auburn was defeating Alabama in the Iron Bowl, T-Bud married the most beautiful girl I ever saw. From that love a family would grow, and the bonds of marriage never faltered for nearly sixty-three years.
Major Fisher and his bride Sylvia would start their family near to her roots in Selma with the birth of their son, Clarence Wayne Fisher, junior, in 1956. Their next two children, true to the military lifestyle, would be born further afield. In August 1957, Major Fisher left his young family safely with family in Alabama and headed to Korea. During the next few years, pages and pages of love would cross oceans as T-Bud and Sylvia struggled to raise their son while living on separate continents. Those letters and tapes continued throughout T-Buds career, and over 800 remain preserved as a testament to what love is and what it is capable of enduring.
February 1960 brought the birth of their second son, David Sims Fisher, while the family was stationed at England AFB, Louisiana. Five years later, on a snowy, again, February day, a daughter, Michele, would be born in the 50th Tactical Hospital, Hahn Air Force Base, Germany. T-Bud loved all things that moved fast, especially airplanes and cars. It was in Germany that his love of Porsche was materially realized as he drove a brand new 356C out of the Stuttgart factory. Michele would go home from the hospital in that Porsche. Years later, her beloved daddy made good, as always, on his promise that she would drive one someday. A creative genius who loved to tinker, logging perhaps as many garage hours as flight, Clarence successfully restored multiple Porsche engines, using an iron coffee table that he and Sylvia found in Turkey as his workstation. Michele drove, as her first car, a 1971 911T.
The family Fisher returned to the states briefly before returning overseas, this time to the beautiful country of Spain. During this monumental time in American history, as the United States sought and ultimately achieved being first to the moon, the good news came that Major Fisher was promoted to Lt. Colonel. Sylvia had her dress sent from Selma, her mother Pearl picking it out, and the 60s ended with triumph; yet, another war was brewing for the now-veteran pilot.
Colonel Fisher would bring his family once again back to Selma as he entered the third war of his illustrious career. On April 8, 1970, T-Bud took off in his F-100 leading two other F-100s in close air support of a friendly ground unit in contact with an unknown sized hostile force. Despite intense hostile ground fire, low overcast weather, and the extreme closeness of the opposing troops, Colonel Fisher flew multiple bombing and strafing passes, causing the hostile force to break contact and enabling the friendly unit to evacuate its troops. The professional competence, aerial skill and devotion to duty displayed by Colonel Fisher reflects great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force. Indeed, the seasoned pilot who dutifully served his country, without reservation, regardless of who was elected President, distinguished himself not only by receiving his second Flying Cross, but also by all the preparation spent cultivating the code he lived byone which answered the call of duty with a resounding yes! His 378th combat mission resulted in this wheels up fighter pilot, unlike so many he had known and respected and lost throughout his career, safely putting his wheels down for one last time. There, on that runway of a milestone, he taxied toward his squadron who waited with Champagne, sufficiently shaken, in celebration of a job well done and a life still living. Along with the Champagne shower came recognition again, the medals. Colonel Fisher was decorated by the Air Medal with 25 Oak Leaf Clusters, Combat Readiness Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with two Bronze Stars, Air Force Longevity Service Award, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Medal, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with device (60).
By 1972, after seeing the world, Bud and Sylvia went old school”: it was time to grow roots, even in loose, white sand. On the Gulf Coast of Florida, home of the Luckiest Fishing Village in the World, the Fisher family began their lives yet again. The next five years at Eglin Air Force Base found T-Bud serving as Chief, Air Force Application Division; Director, Force Integration Studies Directorate; Deputy Chief of Staff for Tactical Applications, and Special Assistant to the Commander, 4441st Tactical Training Group, United States Tactical Air Warfare Center.
Tar-heel T-Bud, born in 1922, began his life with bright blue eyes, whose sparkle courted the joy of living itself. His letters often spoke to an inherent passion for running. His discipline was exemplary, and in those races between him and his limits, it was clear that each step was part of the overall victory he sought to achieve. To those who chase after life, measure for measure, daring its beauty and poignancy to outrun them, medals make sense. On yet another Wednesday, November 30, 1977, he was awarded his final military honor, The Meritorious Service Medal. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Colonel Fisher culminate a distinguished career in the service of his country and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force. The next day, at the young age of 55, Lt. Colonel Clarence Wayne Fisher retired from the military. Nearly half his life remained
Over the next forty years, Clarence and Sylvia, whose love he unceasingly testified to as the only reward that truly mattered, raised their family near a base near the sea. They invested in some waterfront property where large oaks with Spanish moss, especially appealing, framed the vista they saw as their dream. As the Panhandle enjoyed growth, the Fisher dream grew in value as did their family. Son, Wayne, married Susan Page Brooks from Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, settling in Destin, Florida, where Wayne began his career as an Agent for Liberty National Insurance and Susan, a dental hygienist. Michele married David Vance Lucas and they settled in his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama where he began his career an attorney. In 1997, weeks after the birth of their first grandson, lanterns bought in Holland while they were still a young couple flanked the open doors of the new home they always wanted. Though blessed with five grandchildren–Willoughby Caroline Lucas Hastings, Carlee Tate Fisher, Fisher Vance Lucas, Carson Brooks Fisher and Emma Michele Lucas–they suffered the loss of their beloved son, David Sims Fisher on February 4, 2006.
The military is about movement. Lt. Colonel Clarence Wayne Fisher saw it as a genuine opportunity to give his life toward the cause he held so dearfreedom. Without it, Americans are at a standstill. His soul simply moved to the call of duty, to the wonder of life, to the finish line of No Regret. His love of music, audio and letter-writing produced a multimedia library, encapsulating a time when men went to war and returned heroes; and also, sadly, a time when that was not always the case. In liquid letters, he left sage advice that was not plagiarized from anothers mind, but rather hard-earned through his efforts to be of service. His life was spent willingly laid before an imperfect world, but certainly, through his love of CHRIST and desire to stand as a light unto HIM, one in which he forged quite a friendship.
Source: https://www.laughlinservice.com/obituaries/Lt-Col-Clarence-Wayne-Fisher?obId=4360675
