Gentry Lavern Milhorn was born on October 15, 1920, in Boise, Idaho, to Gentry Washington and Laura (White) Milhorn. He was the last of eight children in a family that had migrated from Piney Flats, Sullivan County, Tennessee, to Walla Walla, Washington in 1910.



His father was raised in a family that bought, sold and stabled horses in Tennessee. They pursued the same business in Walla Walla. Soon after they moved west, the automobile began to replace horses and the livery stable business floundered. His father tried a variety of jobs including: selling dry goods, in Walla Walla, homesteading in Weiser, Idaho, and driving a Wells Fargo Stagecoach between Boise & Weiser. About five years after young Gentry was born, the family moved to Long Beach, California, where his father worked moving oil derricks in the nearby Signal Hill oil field and moving houses that required relocation.



Gentry Lavern always disliked his given name. As a child, one of his playmates began calling him "Buddy". That name stuck and he soon adopted the moniker "Bud" which he used as his first name for the rest of his life. Bud attended public school in Long Beach for most of his school years except for the years of 1935-36 when his family moved for a short time to Tulare County, California, to once again attempt farming. Bud's father was soon stricken with severe asthma (possibly triggered by dust and pollens encountered on the farm) and the family moved back to Long Beach where his father worked as a supervisor at a house moving company until retirement. Bud then finished his high school years at Long Beach Polytechnic High School where he graduated in 1938.



During high school, he became interested in woodworking and took industrial art classes with a dream of becoming a cabinetmaker. However, he was unable to find an apprenticeship in that field. He then worked at jobs in the house moving business and by early 1942, was helping the war effort as an employee of Douglas Aircraft Company in his hometown, Long Beach, California.



He registered for the military on February 16, 1942, hoping to become a pilot. In order to do so, he needed more math than he had taken in high school. So, he enrolled for one semester at Long Beach City College and completed the required classes. On February 23, 1943, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps as an Aviation Cadet. During the time he was in flight school he met the love of his life, dated, and then married Ethel Lee Vogel on November 25, 1943. Just ten days later, December 5, 1943, he graduated from flight school, received his pilot's wings and his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Over the next several months he trained and qualified to pilot two engine bombers. By September, 1944, he was on his way to Melun, France to join the 9th Air Force, 416th Bombardment Group, 671st Bomb Squadron.



Lt. Gentry "Bud" Milhorn flew 40 combat missions over Germany and Czechoslovakia. His plane was shot down once and he and his two crewmen parachuted to safety. He earned the Purple Heart for burns suffered during that ordeal. He was also awarded the European, African, Middle Eastern Ribbon with 3 Bronze Stars, and the Air Medal with 7 oak leaf clusters, (Based on later research by his son, Gentry also qualified for the American Theatre Medal and the Victory Medal. However, no documentation for these awards has been discovered.) He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant (temporary grade) in April, 1945 (and officially on October 10, 1945). World War II ended in Europe on May 7, 1945, when Germany surrendered. His Bomb Group was enroute to the Pacific Theatre when Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945.



After the war, Bud returned to his family which now included his wife Ethel, and their daughter Linda who was born on December 5, 1944 (just four days before her father flew his first combat mission). Ethel's father welcomed Bud home and offered him a job in the family-owned grocery store in Orange Cove, California. Over the next few years three more children joined the family: Richard (July 1, 1946), Susan (December 21, 1948), and Kathy (September 20, 1951). Bud remained in the grocery business throughout his working years while pursuing his avocation of woodworking on a variety of projects.