Maj. Gen. Chesley Peterson

Major General Chesley Peterson

Decorated WW2 Pilot and Intelligence Officer

PHS Class of 1938

Chesley Peterson was born in Salmon, ID, but soon moved to Santaquin. He graduated from PHS in the class of 1938, then earned a bachelor’s from Brigham Young University in political science. He entered military service with the Utah National Guard in 1937. After serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps, in 1939, he joined the Royal Air Force in London, in September 1940. His first assignment was with Royal Air Force Station Howarden and then Eagle Squadron 71 in England. When the U.S. entered the war, Peterson switched to the U.S. Army Air Forces and was assigned as executive officer, 4th Fighter Group, England. In July 1943 he reported to the 8th Fighter Command and later the 65th Fighter Wing, England, as assistant operations and training officer. While wearing the uniforms of the Royal Air Force and U.S. Army Air Forces officer, General Peterson participated in the Battle of Britain, was the youngest squadron commander in the Royal Air Force, and flew 130 combat sorties over the English Channel into enemy territory. Additionally, he scored at least nine enemy kills, plus nine probables; became the youngest full colonel in the U.S. Army Air Forces at the age of 23; and survived a 500-foot fall into the English Channel when his parachute failed to open after bailing out of a crippled P-47 Thunderbolt.

After the war, Peterson rose to the rank of Major General, serving in various capacities around the world including Director of Intelligence with the U.S. Strike Command at MacDill AFB, Florida, and Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence to the Commander in Chief of Pacific Air Forces. Peterson was the first American fighter pilot to win both the U.S. Distinguished Service Cross and Britain's Distinguished Service Order, each country's second-highest military decoration. His other decorations include the Legion of Merit, Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Purple Heart, British Distinguished Flying Cross, and the French Legion of Honor. Major General Peterson is also a member of the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame.

Inducted 2021