Frank E. Petersen

Retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General Frank Emmanuel Petersen, Jr. was born in Topeka, Kansas, the second of four children to Frank Petersen, Sr., a radio repairman, and Edythe Southard Petersen. He grew up in South Topeka, ten miles away next to Topeka Army Airfield where he watched the aircraft take off and land. He attended Monroe Elementary School, the gifted program of Boswell Junior High School, and graduated from Topeka High School in 1949. He had wanted to join the military after high school, but abided to his parents wishes and attended Washburn University. After a year, he left college and applied to enlist in the U.S. Navy. He did so well on the exam, that the recruiter made him take the test again. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in June 1950 where he trained to be an electronics technician. While in basic training, he learned about Jesse Brown, the first black Navy pilot who was shot down and killed in North Korea on December 4, 1950. This motivated him to apply to the Naval Aviation Cadet Corps. He entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in 1951. Petersen and another person were the only black people in the program. In October, 1952, Petersen completed flight training and was designated a Naval Aviator. He accepted a commission as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps becoming the first black aviator in Marine Corps history. Petersen was assigned to Korea in 1953. There, he flew Chance Vaught F4U Corsairs on 64 combat missions with Marine Fighter Squadron 212 (VMF-212), Devilcats, out of the K-6 Airfield in Pyong-Taek to the Yalu River. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and six air medals before the Korean War ended. In 1968, Petersen became the first African American in the Marines or the Navy to command a tactical air squadron when he took over Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 (VMFA-314), the Black Knights, in Vietnam. He flew 290 missions during the Vietnam War between May 1968 and February 1969. In 1968, General Peterson earned the Purple Heart for his actions while flying a mission in North Vietnam when he was shot down, and rescued. He has over 4,000 hours in various fighter/attack aircraft. In July 1969, Petersen became a tactical air planner/programmer in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Aviation. In 1971, he became special advisor to the Comandant of the Marine Corps in charge of African-American officer recruitment. In July 1975, Petersen was promoted to Colonel and took command of Marine Air Corps 32 at Cherry Point, North Carolina later that year. In February 1979 he was selected for promotion to brigadier general, in May 1983 he was advanced to the rank of major general. General Petersen was promoted to lieutenant general on June 12, 1986 and was appointed Commanding General of the USMC Combat Development Command at Quantico, Virginia. When he retired in 1988, Petersen was the first black three star general in the USMC and the "Silver Hawk" and "Gray Eagle" senior and ranking aviator in both the USMC and the Navy. He was awarded still another Distinguished Service Medal for his command services at Quantico. Petersen later received his B.A. degree in 1967 and his M.A. degree in international affairs in 1973, both at George Washington University. He also graduated from the National War College in 1973. In 1987 he was the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Law degree granted by Virginia Union University. In addition he has also attended the following service schools: the Amphibious Warfare School, Quantico, Va.; and the Aviation Safety Officers Course at the University of Southern California. His numerous decorations include: the Distinguished Flying Cross; the Meritorious Service Medal; the Purple Heart; the Defense Superior Service Medal; Legion of Merit with Combat "V"; Air Medal; Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V"; and the Air Force Commendation Medal; the Robert M. Hanson award for the Most Outstanding Fighter Squadron while assigned in Vietnam, 1968; Man of the Year, NAACP, 1979; Gray Eagle Trophy, August 21, 1987-June 15, 1988. Petersen spent his civilian years as vice president of corporate aviation for DuPont DeNemours, Inc. Managing their corporate fleet, he traveled the globe, retiring in 1997. Petersen, who had five children, lived on the Chesapeake Bay. He died at his home in Stevensville, on Maryland's Kent Island, of complications from lung cancer on August 25, 2015. He was 83.