CEDRIC A. PETERSON, JR., 1LT, USAF
Cedric Peterson, Jr. '50
Lucky Bag
From the 1950 Lucky Bag:
CEDRIC ARTHUR PETERSON
La Crosse, Wisconsin
Ready, fence! These were familiar words to Pete's ears. This may have been an outgrowth of his many after-taps, broomstick-and-waterbucket sorties Plebe summer. Just as he made life interesting for those unfortunates who encountered him on these raids, so did he favor his opponents with the busy end of an epee. The possessor of a sympathetic ear, a helping hand, and an array of femme fables, Pete knew how to get the spice out of life so as to flavor the dark days of those around him.
CEDRIC ARTHUR PETERSON
La Crosse, Wisconsin
Ready, fence! These were familiar words to Pete's ears. This may have been an outgrowth of his many after-taps, broomstick-and-waterbucket sorties Plebe summer. Just as he made life interesting for those unfortunates who encountered him on these raids, so did he favor his opponents with the busy end of an epee. The possessor of a sympathetic ear, a helping hand, and an array of femme fables, Pete knew how to get the spice out of life so as to flavor the dark days of those around him.
Loss
Cedric was lost on December 7, 1953 when the F-84G he was piloting crashed near Komaki AB, Japan.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
A graduate of Logan High School in 1944, he was nicknamed Pete. “His goul [sic] is high.” Hall Guide 3; Class Play 4; P. T. A. 1. (Classmates Avis and Helen Peterson were also nicknamed Pete.) He played Mr. Merritt in the January play “Almost Eighteen,” and Mr. Hardcastle in the June play “She Stoops to Conquer.”
After graduating from the Naval Academy, he was assigned to the U.S. Air Force and several air bases in Texas before going to Williams Air Force Base, Chandler, Arizona. He graduated from the jet fighter school there in March, 1952. His class was comprised of students from five NATO countries – U.S., France, Belgium, Norway, and The Netherlands. He went to Japan in July, 1952, being assigned as a pilot to the 474th Fighter Bomber Wing. He had an F-84 Thunderjet. His wife, the former Patricia Leslie, and 18-months-old daughter Leslie lived with him in Nagoya, Japan.
He was also survived by his father, sister Kathryn, brother Edward, and grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Edward Palmer. He was a member of Frontier Lodge No. 45, F. and A.M., and a past master councillor of Joseph Miller Chapter, Order of DeMolay.
He is buried in Wisconsin.
Photographs
From The La Crosse Tribune on December 7, 1953
Related Articles
James Bowers '50, Hamilton McDowell, Jr. '50, Wilbur Spradling, Jr. '50, James Wills, Jr. '50, Edward Hotz, Jr. '50, Lorenzo Daleo '50, George Duncan, Jr. '50, and Christopher Braybrooke '50 were also graduated from pilot training class 51-E, Williams AFB, Arizona, on August 4, 1951. (Sixty-seven Naval Academy graduates completed this class.)
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