An Update on Bud’s Return

Erin Faith Allen and Lockered Bud Gahs © Erin Faith Allen

As you may have guessed, travel restrictions and general concern for safety have postponed Bud's return to his battlefields in Europe. We are hopeful that we will resume the original plan as soon as possible. In the meantime, the work has continued quietly behind the scenes.

The most significant moments of these past months have been Zoom calls connecting Bud with the families of two men killed in the fierce firefight at Schweighausen.

Lanny lost her father, PFC Barney Parrish, just months before she was born. PFC Parrish was Bud's assistant truck driver, and Bud was able to offer her personal memories of her father that she had never had access to before.

The Cruse family lost PFC Wayne Cruse in the same battle. Bud was able to bring peace and closure to a family that has honored PFC Cruse's memory for generations.

The archive continues to grow. Little by little, additional materials surface, trigger new memories, and bring out stories that have never been told. The fuller picture of Bud's war is coming together slowly and with great care.

Bud's story reached an eleven year old historian in the making named Ronan Finnegan from New Jersey, who spent time with Bud on Zoom and came prepared with questions about his wartime experience. Bud answered every one of them with characteristic generosity. It was one of the more heartwarming afternoons of this project.

In collaboration with my colleague Dr. Robert Sommer in Germany, I have been working to identify German figures who played key roles in the company's wartime encounters. That research is ongoing.

And last but very far from least: the French Legion of Honor is being secured for Bud.

We remain devoted to this history, to the honoring of these men, and to the preservation of their legacies. Bud's journey back to his battlefields will happen. We are simply waiting for the world to make room for it.