Forrest S. Petersen

{{Infobox military person

| name = Forrest S. Petersen

| image = ForrestSilasPetersonUSN.jpg

| caption =

| birth_name = Forrest Silas Petersen

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|5|16}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1990|12|8|1922|5|16}}

| placeofburial_label = Place of burial

| placeofburial = Arlington National Cemetery

| birth_place = Holdrege, Nebraska, U.S.

| death_place = Georgetown, South Carolina, U.S.

| placeofburial_coordinates =

| nickname =

| allegiance = United States

| branch = United States Navy

| serviceyears = 1944–1980

| alma_mater = {{ubl|USNA, B.S. 1944|NPS, B.S. 1950|Princeton University, M.S. 1951}}

| rank = Vice admiral

| unit =

| commands = {{ubl|Naval Air Systems Command|USS Enterprise}}

| battles = {{ubl|World War II|Korean War|Vietnam War}}

| awards = {{ubl|Legion of Merit|Distinguished Flying Cross|Bronze Star}}

| relations =

| laterwork =

}}

Forrest Silas Petersen (May 16, 1922 – December 8, 1990), (VADM, USN), was a United States Navy aviator and test pilot.[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/13/obituaries/forrest-s-petersen-68-retired-vice-admiral.html "Forrest S. Petersen, 68, Retired Vice Admiral"], The New York Times, December 13, 1990 He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA.

Birth and education

Born May 16, 1922, in Holdrege, Nebraska, he was the son of Elmer and Stella Petersen, and was raised in Gibbon, Nebraska. He graduated from Gibbon High School in 1939. Prior to his admission to the United States Naval Academy, he attended the University of Nebraska for two years.

Military career

He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1944 with a Naval Science degree. He was commissioned as an ensign and reported to the destroyer {{USS|Caperton|DD-650|6}}. While serving aboard USS Caperton, he participated in campaigns in the Philippines, Formosa and Okinawa. After graduation from flight training in 1947, he was assigned to Fighting Squadron Twenty Able which was later redesignated Fighter Squadron 192.

Petersen graduated from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering in July 1950. He continued studies for one year at Princeton University and received a Master of Science degree in Engineering. From 1953 to 1956 he served with Fighter Squadron 51. In 1956, he was selected to attend the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, and remained as an instructor following graduation.

In August 1958, he was assigned duties as Research Pilot in the X-15 Program and served at the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California until January 1962. During that time, he made five free flights in the X-15 and achieved a speed of {{convert|3,600|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} (Mach 5.3) and an altitude of about {{convert|102,000|ft|km}}. He was one of the initial three test pilots, with Joe Walker, Bob White, and contractor pilot Scott Crossfield.{{cite book| title=Test Pilots| page=254| author=Richard P. Hallion| publisher=Smithsonian Institution| year=1981}}

He was the only active duty Navy pilot to fly the X-15{{cite web |url=http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/x-men.html |title=The Real X-Men | Military Aviation | Air & Space Magazine |publisher=Airspacemag.com |date= |access-date=2010-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201204549/http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/x-men.html |archive-date=2010-12-01 |url-status=dead }} (John B. McKay, Milton O. Thompson, Scott Crossfield and Neil Armstrong were former Navy pilots).{{cite web|author=Joe Frasketi |url=http://spacecovers.com/misc/testpilot_info.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030820020002/http://www.spacecovers.com/misc/testpilot_info.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=August 20, 2003 |title=Experimental Research Test Pilots - Information Sheet - Joe Frasketi's Space Covers |publisher=Spacecovers.com |date= |access-date=2010-08-05}} In July 1962, he was a joint recipient of the Collier Trophy, which was presented by President John F. Kennedy, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, which was presented by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/x15/peters.html |title=X-15 - Biography |publisher=Hq.nasa.gov |date=1922-05-16 |access-date=2010-08-05 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091908/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/x15/peters.html |url-status=dead }}

Petersen served as Commanding Officer of Fighter Squadron 154 prior to being assigned to the office of Director, Division of Naval Reactors, Atomic Energy Commission for Nuclear Power Training. He reported to the aircraft carrier {{USS|Enterprise|CVN-65|6}} in January 1964 and served as Executive Officer until April 1966. He was awarded the Bronze Star for duty during Enterprise{{'}}s first combat tour in Vietnam. In November 1967, he assumed command of {{USS|Bexar|APA-237|6}} in the Pacific Fleet Amphibious Forces. Following an eight-month deployment with the United States Seventh Fleet Amphibious Forces in the Western Pacific, he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V. He then served as Commanding Officer of USS Enterprise (July 8, 1969 – December 3, 1971). He was then assigned duties as an Assistant to the Director of Naval Program Planning in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations. In 1974, he went on to command Combined Task Force 60 (CTF-60) based at Athens, Greece.{{cite web|url=http://www.ussindependencecv-62.org/gwf/ctf60fsp.html |title=Task Force Sixty - Forrest S. Petersen |publisher=Ussindependencecv-62.org |date=2004-03-08 |access-date=2010-08-05}} In 1975 he came back to the Pentagon to head the Naval Air Operations office. He then headed the Naval Air Systems Command, from which he retired in 1980.

Awards and decorations

File:330-PSA-179-62 (21832535199).jpg as Vice Admiral Robert B. Pirie looks on (July 1962)]]

Petersen held the following awards for service in World War II, Korean War and the Vietnam War: Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Navy Commendation Medal (with "Combat V"), American Defense Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, American Campaign Medal, China Service Medal, Army of Occupation Medal (with "Japan" clasp), Philippine Liberation Medal, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, World War II Victory Medal, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal (with bronze service star), Korean War Service Medal, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mach-buster.co.uk/#/petersen-to-ridley/4532806536|title=Mach-buster.co.uk}} In 1962 he also received the John J. Montgomery Award. The midshipman library at the University of Nebraska is named in honor of Admiral Petersen.

Family

File:ANCExplorer Forrest S. Petersen grave.jpg

Petersen married June Berkshire on February 2, 1946. They had three children: Lynn Elizabeth, Nels Christian, and Forrest Dean. June died on May 8, 1977.

He subsequently married Jean Baldwin on June 17, 1978; she had a son, Preston. She died in 2005.

Death and burial

He died on December 8, 1990, in Georgetown, South Carolina from a brain tumor, at age 68.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/13/obituaries/forrest-s-petersen-68-retired-vice-admiral.html |title=Forrest S. Petersen, 68, Retired Vice Admiral |work=The New York Times |date= 1990-12-13 |access-date=2010-10-12}} He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/fspetersen.htm Arlington National Cemetery]

References

Notes

Bibliography

Thompson, Milton O. (1992) At The Edge Of Space: The X-15 Flight Program, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington and London. {{ISBN|1-56098-107-5}}
[http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/x15/peters.html NASA website source of text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304091908/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/x15/peters.html |date=2016-03-04 }}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20110722013155/http://gallery.pictopia.com/collections/gallery/usni:5190/photo/usni:327146/ "VAdm. Forrest. S. Petersen"], pictopia
[http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/astronauts/english/petersen_forrest.htm Biographies of U.S. Astronauts]

Category:1922 births

Category:1990 deaths

Category:American aviators

Category:Aviators from Nebraska

Category:American test pilots

Category:People from Holdrege, Nebraska

Category:United States Naval Academy alumni

Category:Naval Postgraduate School alumni

Category:Princeton University alumni

Category:University of Nebraska alumni

Category:United States Navy vice admirals

Category:United States Naval Aviators