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Friday, August 28, 2015

Frank E. Petersen Jr., first black Marine aviator, dies



Frank E. Petersen III said his father died Tuesday at his home in Stevensville, on Maryland's Kent Island, of complications from lung cancer. He was 83.

The New York Times reported that Petersen enlisted in the Navy in 1950, two years after President Truman desegregated the armed forces.

The next year, Petersen entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program, according to The Washington Post.

According to a news release on the Marine Corps website, Petersen was commissioned in the corps in 1952. The Marines say Petersen served in the Korean War in 1953 and Vietnam in 1968. He received the Purple Heart for wounds suffered when he ejected over the demilitarized zone in Vietnam, The Post reported.

During his career, Petersen flew more than 350 combat missions and more than 4,000 hours.

Story here 

Frank E. Petersen's Wiki


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 Rest easy Sir.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

And perhaps someone can tell me just exactly where the "Demilitarized Zone" was in Viet Nam?