Gerald Gustafson was born in St. Peter, MN, the son of Swedish immigrants. He joined the United States Air Force in 1952 and served until 1979, serving in Thule, Greenland, the United States and Vietnam. St. ... “The U.S. Air Force” redirects here. ... Map of Greenland Qaanaaq (pron. ...

Air Force Service

Gustafson first went through basic training in San Antonio, Texas, then navigation school. In the late 50's, the Air Force was looking for the next generation of pilots and Gustafson was accepted into pilot training, earning his wings at the end of training. He was first stationed in Wisconsin flying F-86's. “San Antonio” redirects here. ... The first proposals for the North American Aviation F-86 Sabre were made in 1944, but construction was not begun until after World War II. Many elements of German jet design were implemented in the Sabre, after the American liberation troops captured a number of working Messerschmitt Me 262 experimental...

Vietnam Service

In 1967 and 1968, he was stationed at Thak Li Air Force base in Thailand flying F-105s over Vietnam. He was shot down twice and was awarded the Air Force Cross. Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

F-105 Thunderchiefs in flight Image File history File links F-105 Thundercheif used with permission from www. ...

Air Force Cross

Gustafson's award for the Air Force Cross states the following: "The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, awards the Air Force Cross to Major Gerald C. Gustafson for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as an F-105 Aircraft Commander over North Vietnam on 19 November 1967. On that date, Major Gustafson's aircraft was severely damaged by a surface to air missile while he was assisting another pilot who had received battle damage and had been wounded. Major Gustafson refused to leave his comrade until other escort aircraft could be vectored in to give the wounded pilot assistance in reaching his home base safely. Only then, did Major Gustafson egress to a safer area where he was force to eject from his own stricken aircraft. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness, Major Gustafson reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force." The Air Force Cross is a military decoration which is issued in the following countries: The Air Force Cross of the United Kingdom The Air Force Cross of the United States This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same...

This was awarded in Nov. 1967.

Retirement

After Vietnam, Gustafson went on to work for the University of Maryland ROTC program. he also worked at the Pentagon. He retired a full bird Colonel. Gustafson retired in 1979 and moved to New Richland, Minnesota where he still resides today. He is an active member of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, better known as the River Rats. University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (also known as UM, UMD, or UMCP) is a public coeducational university situated in suburban College Park, Maryland just outside Washington, D.C. The flagship institution of the University System of Maryland, the university is most often referred to... The Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is a training program of the United States armed forces present on college campuses to recruit and educate commissioned officers. ... Look up pentagon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... New Richland is a city located in Waseca County, Minnesota. ...

Wild Weasel Pilots Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 465 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1397 × 1800 pixel, file size: 476 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...