Retired Col. Clarence E. \u201cBud\u201d Anderson, a 100-year-old World War II flying ace, received an honorary promotion to brigadier general by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown in a ceremony Friday at the Aerospace Museum of California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A flying or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft in combat. Anderson, the highest scoring American air ace alive, is one of 14 living aces out of 1,447 recognized with the distinction by the American Fighter Aces Association,<\/a> according to an Air Force release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an interview with Military Times, Anderson said it was \u201cpretty special\u201d for the Air Force chief to come to swear him in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s kind of a wrecking ball of a guy,\u201d Brown said during the ceremony, referencing Anderson\u2019s career and service record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou had a pretty thick binder, and I was going through it and some of the print was faded … but it was really good to have a chance just to read through and for me, personally, to reflect on the history of our Air Force and the impact you\u2019ve had on our history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t