Long overdue honor paid to Cameron's Bud Hause
By James Moate Endeavor News

Bud Hause has stayed active in the Democratic Party all his life. Last year, Cameron County's Democratic Committee hosted a reception for Governor Ed Rendell at the Pizza Palace Plus in Emporium. His grandson, Zach and son Von (far right) are pictured with him and Governor Rendell here.

Cameron County paid a long overdue tribute to one of its native sons last week.

With members of his family looking on, Harry "Bud" Hause was presented with an honorary diploma from the Cameron County Area School Board in an emotional ceremony.

Many teenagers from his generation were forced to leave school to provide for their families or serve their country in the military. The proud, but unassuming, Bud Hause did both.

Hause attended school in Driftwood, the village of Cameron and Emporium before dropping out in November 1941, at the age of 14. His concern for others was evident even at that early age.

Bud's sister Dessie, or "Toots" as she was known, was diagnosed with leukemia. Medical treatments at the time consisted of blood transfusions, costing the family $75 per week -- which consumed his mother's entire salary. Hause worked several jobs in various communities for upwards of three years, digging potatoes, loading bricks, and cutting wood, and sent most of his earnings back home.

Bud Hause (left) wanted to enter the military badly enough that he joined when he was 15, only to be discharged when it was discovered that he was just a kid. He later re-enlisted.

"Times were tough in the '40s," he recalled. "My one job paid 42 cents an hour, before taxes."

Dessie lost her battle with leukemia in 1947 at the age of 15.

By that time, Bud had enlisted in the Navy during the peak of World War II, only to be honorably discharged after five months' training when officers discovered he was only 16.

Dejected, he returned to Pennsylvania and worked briefly in Emporium and Erie.

Hause gives credit to the late Joe Malizia for his wise counsel and other support at key times in his life. It was Malizia who, in August 1945, persuaded Bud to join four other young men for a trip to Buffalo and possible enlistment in the Marine Corps.

Bud Hause

"Two ended up in the Navy, two went in the Army and here I was, the smallest of the group, making it into the Marines," Hause recalled.

After boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., and assignment to Camp LeJeune on the Atlantic coast in Jacksonville, N.C., Hause was deployed to China. He was a prison guard and clerical worker at a U.S. military base in Tiensten. Later, he was transferred to Peking, where he served as a military policeman.

"Things were pretty hot, as this was the most vile part of the city," Hause said. "The Communists would come and steal our Jeeps, weapons, food, whatever they could get hold of. And there's all 135 pounds of me, with only a .45 pistol to defend myself. You were constantly aware of the fact that your life didn't mean much."

On one occasion, he looked on in horror as one of his colleagues was killed by friendly fire.

Hause's exit from the Marines came as the result of a freak injury, not a combatrelated wound. After treatment at the U.S. Naval hospitals in Peking and Philadelphia, he was discharged as a private first class in November 1946.

Joe Mallizia persuaded Hause to join the marines in 1945.

"Yes, I am a military veteran, but I want to emphasize that I am not a hero," Bud was quick to point out. "My idea of heroes are men like Chappie Toner of Driftwood or Les Geelen of Emporium, who received battlefield commissions, or the two Miller brothers and two Raffaele brothers, who were killed in action and had our VFW named after them. Now, those are heroes."

Hause went on to earn a business administration degree from Tri-State College in Angola, Ind., and was certified as an income tax preparer and consultant in 1967.

He worked for PennDOT for eight years, was an auditor for public assistance cases and directed relief efforts in five counties after Hurricane Agnes in 1972.

He has been active in politics and spent many years as chairman of the Cameron County Democratic Committee and as a Democratic state committeeman.

"It was Joe Malizia who opened my eyes to the idea of using politics as a means of helping people," Hause said.

As Hause looked back over his life, he said he was grateful for a defining moment when Malizia exerted his influence:

"I'll admit that when I was young, I was a smart aleck, teasing other kids and those kinds of things. One time when I was acting up, I felt this big hand on my shoulder. It was Mr. Malizia. He said to me, 'Would you like it if I did that to you?' And I said, 'No, sir, I wouldn't.' Mr. Malizia kind of took me under his wing after that."

Hause said his life took a different turn after that fateful day. Since then, he has devoted much of his life to public service in one way or the other.

"I've been blessed," he said. "Every day I'm thankful that I am still going and able to help others when I can."