Forrest Petersen

Forrest S Petersen was born in Holdrege, Nebraska on May 16, 1922. After attending the University of Nebraska for two years, he entered the US Naval Academy. Following graduation in 1944, he joined the USS CAPERTON.

He entered flight training in 1946 and served in a fighter squadron until 1950 when he attended Princeton University where he received a master’s degree in engineering in 1953.

After serving again in a fighter squadron, he entered the US Navy Test Pilot School. In 1958 he became the naval pilot of the X-15, a joint Navy-Air Force-NASA project. While flying the X-15 he achieved a speed of 3600 mph and an altitude of 102,000 feet, which classified him as the world’s fastest Naval Aviator at that time. For his contributions to the X-15 program, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal, and jointly with the other three pilots, the Robert J Collier Trophy by President Kennedy and numerous other awards and decorations.

Following a tour as commanding officer of Fighter Squadron 154, he reported to the Atomic Energy Commission in 1963. A year later he was designated as qualified to operate nuclear reactors, and become executive officer of the USS ENTERPRISE where he served from 1964-1966. He was awarded the Bronze Star for duty during ENTERPRISE’S first combat tour in Vietnam. 

Following his first service on the ENTERPRISE, he assumed command of USS BEXAR in 1967 for an eight month deployment, another service as Commanding Officer of USS ENTERPRISE from 1969-1971, served as Assistant to the Director of Naval Programing Planning in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations, and in 1975 returned to the Pentagon to head the Naval Air Operations office. 

He then headed the Naval Air Systems Command, from which he retired in 1980.

Forrest S Petersen died on December 8, 1990, in Georgetown, South Carolina from a brain tumor. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.