zwiebel
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Retired General Frank E. Petersen, the first black American to become an aviator in the US Marines and then a general, has died of complications from lung cancer, aged 83. When he retired, it was as the most senior aviator of both the US Navy and the marines and a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars. He flew over 350 combat missions.
He was also an author:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...s-first-black-aviator-general-dies-83-n417466
He was also an author:
In his 1998 autobiography, "Into the Tiger's Jaw: America's First Black Marine Aviator," Petersen wrote at length about the racism and opposition he encountered along his way up the ranks.
Immediately upon entering the military in 1950, he wrote, "I knew I had a problem as soon as I assessed the racial situation."
"I had fled my hometown to escape racism, only to find myself caught in a deeper kind of prejudice than Topeka ever knew," he wrote: "Separate water fountains in the gym. Designated latrines. The back-of-the-bus routine.".....
He finally felt "I was a winner" upon his promotion to brigadier general, "even though "not everybody in the Corps was overjoyed at my selection," he wrote.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...s-first-black-aviator-general-dies-83-n417466