By Joshua Lange
Published July 31, 2025
80 years ago, World War II was won. Mishawaka had over 4,400 soldiers and sailors take up arms to defend our freedoms. One such Mishawakan was Darrell “Bud” Walters. Bud Walters was born on September 22, 1919, in Defiance County, Ohio, to Loran “Rollin” Walters, and Blanche (Perry) Walters. Rollin passed away when Bud was a baby, after he contracted the Spanish Flu during the outbreak that swept the world. This left Blanche as a widow with three children. Despite the hardships, Blanche made do, and she moved to Mishawaka after finding work at Ball-Band.
Growing up in Mishawaka, Bud attended Battell School, Main Junior High School, and Mishawaka High School. Bud was athletic and played baseball in his formative years. According to the 1930 Census, the Walters family lived at 511 North Main Street, and in the 1940 Census, they moved to 1021 Lincolnway West. After two years of high school, Bud had to drop out to work for Ball-Band to help provide for his family, something that was all too common during the Great Depression.
With war on the horizon, Bud enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 3, 1941, at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, where he was assigned the service number “35160512.” Around this time, he started dating Dorothy Case, a 1939 M.H.S. Alum. Bud and Dorothy tied the knot on November 20, 1941, only a couple of weeks before the Attack on Pearl Harbor. With America’s entry into World War II, Bud had to say his goodbyes to his newly wed wife to go into war. Bud was assigned to the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Armored Division and trained at Camp Polk in Louisiana. Bud would recall the blistering heat in Louisiana by saying that he could crack an egg on the deck of a tank, and it was so hot, the egg would literally fry.
By 1943, the 36th was deployed to England in preparation for the invasion of Nazi occupied Europe. Once the Normandy Invasion began in 1944, Bud was deployed on the sixth day, which was the beginning of his combat action. Due to the speed and military successes of the 36th, they were nicknamed the “Blitz Doughs.” Bud did not speak much about the war, a common trait of World War II veterans, which is due to experiencing significant combat. According to the Association of 3rd Armored Division Veterans, “For all the heavy casualties, constant fighting and fatigue, the [36th Armored Infantry] “Blitz Doughs” maintained a brilliant reputation for valor.” After storming through France and Germany, Bud was hospitalized and sent back to England for recovery. When the war ended, Bud was Honorably Discharged on October 3, 1945, attaining the rank of Technical Fifth Grade, commonly known as “TEC 5”.
Bud returned to Mishawaka by the fall of 1945, where he went back to work at Ball-Band. Bud was reunited with his wife, Dorothy, and they started a family, having two sons. The growing family moved to 1023 North Cedar Street by 1950. The call to public service once again came to Bud when he chose to leave Ball-Band in 1951 and started serving as a firefighter at the Mishawaka Fire Department. Bud helped save lives over the next 25 years until his retirement from M.F.D. in 1976. Bud stayed active in the community, being a member of V.F.W. Post 360 and the Fraternal Order of the Eagles. He stayed loyally married to Dorothy for 67 years until his passing on November 15, 2009, at age 90. Darrell “Bud” Walters is a perfect example of a member of the Greatest Generation from Mishawaka, a man who served his country and his city honorably.
Bud and Dorothy Walters shortly after their wedding
Bud Walters in front of his last station, Old Fire Station 4 on Lincolnway (now a historic landmark)
Articles by Josh Lange 
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