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Show 0 f Y I f1 A fS S . ' fdFjT ft ' rS Si". jr 'sSlZ October 18. 2001 Korean War vet reflects on past, family, freedom by Mary Galbraith Hilltop Times staff Hearing news reports of Afghanistan reconnaissance missions brings back memories for one Layton resident. As a 1 Mustang pilot in the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron during the Korean War, Don Peterson flew 100 missions photographing the enemy's location and guiding bombers to targets. "They'd assign us areas to (fly over) and take vertical photographs," the P-5- soft-spoke- n Hill Aerospace Museum volunteer said. "We'd go out in flights of two, either as lead or wing-maYou had to take them at low speed so they'd get an overlap and they could stereo n. intelligence." Using those images, Peterson said coordinates were established and he and other 45th recon pilots met Navy, Marine, Australian or New Zealand bombers. "We'd lead them in the first pass or two and they'd fire a rocket or drop a bomb so the rest of the flight could o off those targets," he said. Reconnaissance is again critical for the United States armed forces as they seek out Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban terrorist network. As he watches news broadcasts, Peterson follows technological advances. "We thought we were sophisticated," he said. "But we didn't have smart bombs or machine anything. We just had guns, cannons and rockets. And you just had to aim them where you wanted to hit." After a target was hit, Peterson would again photograph the site. Although smoke often made identification diffi cult, there was usually enough information to determine what was destroyed. S "If we hadn't got everyrx thing, we'd usually get back there the next day or so to finish off the target," he said. "I thought it was quite rewarding yo-y- r) 7 That lasted the whole time except for a couple of days." After a plane Peterson flew with was shot down, Ortell worried for several days but she said the feeling passed and she was soon back to caring for the children. That included helping the kids keep in touch with dad. "If you have a you can get by older child," little with a can't doing things you she said. Kathy and her father shared a love of M&M's. Peterson liked the yellow ones, and so he'd take them out of the package and leave the rest for Kathy. During the war, Ortell said while Kathy napped she wrapped an M&M's box and placed it in the mailbox a few times a week so Kathy would think the candy came from her father. After her nap they'd check the mail, and collect the box. After the war, the Peterson family moved out of Ortell's parent's home, where the "girls" spent the war years, and headed for Portland. Not long after the move, while cleaning, Ortell's mother found a stashed box of yellow M&M's. Kathy had saved them for her dad. Apparently Ortell wasn't the only one who always knew Peterson was coming home. Ortell said she took photos of the kids to keep Peterson updated and Kathy even made a recording record of herself singing the Air Force song. When Ortell needed help with chores like buying a Christmas tree, she called on a cousin. While the family carried on with daily life, Peterson continued flying missions. Although he lived in a tent city during the stove kept things winter, a cozy for Peterson and his seven pilot room mates. He said they lived com fortably, but "Bed-Chec- k h "Our altitudes were within anti-aircra- ft range," he said of reconnaissance. "We got hit occasionally. We had to fly straight and level for a timet It and figured we'd accom plished something. Everything that was destroyed (was destroyed) so that some of our people would- was a pretty hostile haz- - ardous mission. There n't be killed later. were times when the adren "We flew 100 (missions) and aline was flowing quite rapidly. then we could come home. We A lot of our targets were pretty thought we were doing the right thing heavily defended. And when we would go in, and protecting freedom for our country, the you could see the ground fire and every so future and our families. Of course we were many rounds was a tracer. They'd go by your concerned for our families at home and they airplane pretty fast. If you'd see them comwere concerned for us too." ing they looked slow until they came to you When he went to war, Peterson was a hus- and then ... zip. I imagine at least half a dozen band and the father of two girls, Kathy who times I was sure one of them had my numwas three at the time and an ber on it." named Janet. Son Kery was born after the At least another half dozen times his airwar, so Peterson's minority status at home craft was hit, luckily by nothing that kept it before the war spawned the name painted on from getting back to base. But while flying his aircraft "My Harem," the nickname he wingman, Peterson took on serious fire. had for the girls at home. It was a reminder "They put one through the tail and through of his reason to get home safely. part of the fuselage and it went through the Peterson said he always felt his wife's bulkheads and ricocheted ... (hitting) near support and although she worried, she knew the control cables and peeling some metal. he was away for the right reasons. The controls were kind of grindy. I nursed it Ortell Peterson wasn't surprised when her home and eased it in. I think that was about husband was sent to Korea. the sweatiest time getting back. Other times "He knew what he was doing when he went they just went through the wing," he said. in," she said. "I had a very peaceful feeling Peterson said despite the danger, being part come over me, I had lost a brother-in-lathat of the fighter-bombstrikes was rewarding I was very close to and I felt like he put my and his is only regret not keeping a better hand on my shoulder during the war. I had diary, although he does have a notebook this feeling that everything (would be fine) . where he carefully logged each of his 100 w re re a en Photo by Mary Galbraith Don Peterson sits in a familiar cockpit at the Hill Aerospace Museum. Peterson was a 1 Mustang pilot during the Korean War. He now volunteers at the museum. missions. Fighting a war in a foreign nation also made him appreciate the freedoms he enjoyed in his own country. At the time, Peterson said many Koreans were living in poverty, and seeing their living conditions made him appreciate the tangible and things he enjoyed as an American. Peterson is proud of military members as they again travel to a foreign nation to protect those freedoms. "Even in doing their job they're in a lot of harm's way," he said. "I make it a point when I see these young folks to tell them that I'm proud of them. We thank them a lot and tell them how proud we are they're serving and I think it makes them feel good." "We've done quite a bit of Space A travel," , Ortell said. "The (Air Force members on the plane) couldn't have been nicer to a couple of old people. They were exceptionally friendly with us and at Hill Field the active duty are particularly friendly." "I think we really lost a lot (of our patriotism) in the general population," she said. "I'm so delighted to see this patriotic non-tangib- Charlie," an enemy pilot that bombed the base's aircraft parking area, never let them forget VjD they were at war. ani ... le In a 1951 photo Don Peterson, above right, and Frank Walb stand in front of Peterson's The aircraft was dubbed "My Harem," the nickname Peterson had for his wife and two daughters. The aircraft was used to photograph enemy targets and survey damage. Peterson has copies of some of the photos he took, like the one at left taken Dec. 8, 1951. er Hill Aerospace Museum Gift shop manager learns, teaches history by Mary Galbraith T-sh- ir Hilltop Times staff You won't see Hollywood's version of Air Force history at the Hill Aerospace Museum gift shop as long as Fos-tee- n Cordon is manager. Nothing less than the authentic article crosses the entrance. From books to documentaries and model airplanes, every item for sale or displayed is the "real tiling." That's just one of the rules Cordon follows to keep quality items in stock for history buffs and veterans from around the world, not to mention several local customers looking for books and documentaries on the most obscure events in Air Force history. Books and model airplanes are the shop's biggest sellers. Recently she's worked diligently to ensure patriotic memorabilia is on store shelves, although if s not an easy task. y Over a period, 100 commemorative Sept. 11 pins sold out. And although the shop was patriotically decorated after last month's tragic events, two-da- Flag, and "God Bless America" ts as well as more Sept 1 1 pins and commemorative are among the items scheduled for delivery. Cordon also stocks American Flag baseball caps. "They love (wearing the memorabilia) to show that they're proud of being an American," she said of her customers. "And I enjoy seeing the people when they come in and say 'oh youVe got this,' and seeing the pleasure on their faces. I do get good merchandise, but I try to keep the price down so it doesn't gouge anyone." Cordon never buys from a vendor until she's done some "checking around'' on the price. Tourists from around the world visit the shop and through them Cordon has learned about American history from different perspectives. "I've had several people from Germany come in. That's how I found out about the Tuskegee Airmen " she said of the group who flew 15,000 combat sorties and earned 150 Distinguished M Photo by Mary Galbraith Hill Aerospace Museum gift shop manager Fosteen Cordon has been working hard to keep American memorabilia and patriotic Items on store shelves. even those items were sold to customers a few days after they went up. "Everything I've got hold of has sold," Cordon said. Flying Crosses as they escorted bombers to targets. "I had no idea those boys were in World War II. A German pilot came in and saw (a painting of) General Davis (one of the first black American pilots and the first black Air Force member to earn a general's star) and 1 on the wall. the "Through broken English we cond versed. He remembered those devils' and said if they were escorting bombers, the Germans got out of the way and prayed they could outrun them because they knew they couldn't outfight them. After I learned about them I set up a display so people would recognize how important they were. I learned they never lost one bomber." Learning more about her country's history is just one of the things that makes working at the shop as much of a hobby as a job for Cordon. She has many fond memories, but says one chance meeting is payback for every day spent at the museum. A few years ago an older couple vis red-taile- d P-5- 'red-taile- found a book that iting from featured the man's World War II unit. She was delighted they found the book, but that was only the beginning. "Another man and his wife came in the store. They were from out of state too. He kept listening. I thought, 'Hey you're being a little nosey aren't you?' But, I was listening to them myself. He walked around the shop and stood behind the man and tapped him on the shoulder," she said. "It turns out they'd gone through WW II together from top to bottom. They got back to the states and lost touch. (After 50 years) they found each other right here in the corner of the shop. Talk about tears. I don't know who was shedding the most them or me." Although the museum is closed due to heightened security events, Cordon is still spending hours at the shop cleaning it from top to bottom and working to get more Sept. 11 memorabilia. For shop details and information on new shipments or special orders, call e real-worl- d 774-095- 6. |
