Lt Gen Frank E. Petersen

[USMCRET6391]

Frank E. Petersen grew up next to Topeka Army Airfield, he lived ten miles away. When he was young he was attracted to aircraft, but his mother wanted him and her other children to pursue intellectual paths. In junior high school he was one of the gifted students. So he went to a special school for both black and white students. After he graduated high school, he wanted to join the military but his parents wanted him to go to Washburn University. After he went there, he enlisted in the Navy in June, 1950.

When he was in bootcamp he learned about Jesse Brown, the first black Navy pilot. He did not know that blacks could join a flight program. Frank E. Petersen entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in 1951. Petersen and another person were the only black people in the program. In October, 1952, Petersen was designated a Naval Aviator and accepted a commission as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps becoming the first black aviator in the Marine history.

In June, 1968 in Vietnam, Frank E. Petersen served as commanding officer of Marine fighter attack squadron 314, becoming the first black officer to command a squadron in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. While in Vietnam, he flew three hundred missions, earning the Legion of Merit with Combat V, the Ari medal, and a Purple heart. His squadron won the Robert M. Hanson award as outstanding fighter attack squadron of the year.

Frank E. Petersen was named commanding general of the first Marine Aircraft wing in 1983. In 1986, Frank E. Petersen became the Marine Corps' first African American three- star general when he received the rank of Lieutenant General.

Gen Petersens Personal Decorations include; the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Purple Heart. He had more than four thousand flying hours in various fighter and attack aircrafts during his military career.