Frank Emmanuel Petersen Jr. (1932 - 2015)

Born 2 Mar 1932 in Topeka, Shawnee Co, Kansas, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Alicia J (Downes) Petersen — married 18 Aug 1975 in Arlington, Virginia, United States

Died 25 Aug 2015 at age 83 in Stevensville, Queen Anne's Co, Maryland, USA

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Biography

Frank Petersen Jr. is Notable.

Lieutenant General Frank Petersen Jr. served in the United States Marine Corps in the Korean War
Service started: June 1950
Unit(s):
Service ended: 1 Aug 1988

Frank Petersen Jr. was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States).

Frank Petersen Jr. was awarded the Legion of Merit.

Frank Emmanuel Peterson Jr. was a pioneering figure in American military history. He held the distinction of being the first African American to attain the rank of General in the United States Marine Corps. Additionally, he became the first African American to serve as an aviator with the Marine Corps. A veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam Wars, he would fly over 350 combat missions (during the Korean War) and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Frank Emmanuel Petersen Jr. was born in Topeka Kansas on March 2, 1932, to Frank Petersen and Edythe Southard. ^[1][2][3]

His father Frank Sr. who worked as a radio repairman and his mother Edythe met at the University of Kansas.

Frank was a United States Marine Corps lieutenant general, the first African American Marine Corps aviator, and the first African American General in the Marines.

"His first tactical assignment was with VMFA-212 during the Korean War. He would fly over 350 combat missions, and had over 4,000 hours in various fighter/attack aircraft. He held command positions at all levels of Marine Corps aviation, commanding a Marine Fighter Squadron, a Marine Aircraft Group and a Marine Aircraft Wing. He was also the first African-American to command a fighter squadron (VMFA-314), a fighter air group, an air wing and a major base."^[4]

He was married first to Eleanor Burton, whom he married in 1955 in Orange County, California.^[5] They had four children before divorcing. ^[2]. He married again to Alicia Joyce Downes in Arlington, Virginia in 1975.^[6] Their marriage also ended in divorce, although they remarried in 2014. ^[2]

A marriage to Jonnie Robinson also ended in divorce.^[2]

Frank passed away in 2015 at his home in Stevensville, Virginia.^[7] He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

On October 6, 2018, the 33rd Aegis Guided Missile Destroyer to be built at Ingalls Shipbuilding (DDG 121) was christened Frank E. Petersen Jr. The Ship was sponsored by Mrs. D'Arcy Neller, wife of U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Robert Neller, USMC; and Dr. Alicia J. Petersen, widow of the ship's namesake, LtGen Frank E. Petersen Jr., USMC (Ret). The two sponsors ceremoniously broke a bottle of sparkling wine against the bow of DDG 121 at the ship's christening^[8].

Sources

1. ↑ 1940 USA Census of KS,Shawnee-Co,Topeka,Ward#5 ed#89-45C sheet#1A family#11 NARA#T627_1260 for Frank E. PETERSEN in household of Frank E Petersen. Available as a digital image on ancestry.com & FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VR2D-NPD : accessed 28 August 2015).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} "First black marine pilot to pin on General's star", The Windsor Star, Ontario, Canada, Tues, 8 Sep 2015 Free View of Clipping
3. ↑ 1950 Census: "1950 United States Federal Census"
   United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Topeka, Shawnee, Kansas; Roll: 5351; Sheet Number: 2; Enumeration District: 107-69
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #29017548 (accessed 3 December 2022)
   Frank E Petersen (18), single son, in household of Frank E Petersen (44) in Topeka, Shawnee, Kansas, USA. Born in Kansas.
4. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Frank E. Petersen," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frank_E._Petersen&oldid=1119665354 (accessed November 12, 2022).
5. ↑ Marriage: "California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1949-1959"
   California Department of Health and Welfare. California Vital Records—Vitalsearch
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 5186 #465268 (accessed 3 December 2022)
   Frank E Petersen (22) marriage to Eleanor A Surton on 18 Feb 1955 in Orange, California, USA.
6. ↑ Marriage: "Virginia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1936-2014"
   Virginia Department of Health; Richmond, Virginia; Virginia, Marriages, 1936-2014; Roll: 101255347
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 9279 #13001083 (accessed 12 November 2022)
   Frank Emmanuel Petersen (43) marriage to Alicia Joyce Downes on 18 Aug 1975 in Arlington, Virginia, USA.
7. ↑ Obituary, The Baltimore Sun, 5 Sep 2015, Sat, p. A10 Free View of Clipping
8. ↑ https://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/releases/photo-release-huntington-ingalls-industries-christens-destroyer-frank-e-petersen-jr-ddg-121

• Find A Grave: Memorial #151274162

• https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/27/us/frank-e-petersen-first-black-general-in-marines-dies-at-83.html

• Wikipedia:Frank E. Petersen

• Wikidata: Item Q5486398

• http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3464629/bio