Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: Salvador Felices, first Puerto Rican Major General in US Air Force

 

Salvador Enrique Felices, born August 13, 1923 in Santurce, Puerto Rico, was the first Puerto Rican to reach the rank of major general in the United States Air Force.  He joined the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Puerto Rico. He entered West Point, the US Military Academy in New York, and took flying lessons.  He received his pilots wings in June 1946 and graduated as a second lieutenant.

He flew 19 combat missions during the Korean War as combat operations officer with the 344th Bombardment Squadron.  In June 1968, he was named commander of the 306th Bombardment Wing and flew 39 combat missions during the Vietnam War. 

In 1969, he became the commander of the 823rd Air Division at McCoy AFB in Florida. He was promoted to major general on April 2, 1973 and became vice commander of the Sixteenth AFB in Spain.  He retired from the Air Force in 1974. He passed away from natural causes in July 1987.

Celebrating Black History Month: Frank Petersen, first African-American Marine Corps general

Frank Petersen, born March 2, 1932 in Topeka, Kansas, was the first African-American Marine Corps aviator and the first African-American Marine Corps general.

He enlisted in the US Navy in June 1950 and served as an electronics technician, but he vowed to a combat pilot.  He entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in 1951 and completed flight training in October 1952.  He accepted a commission as second lieutenant in the Marine Corps.  He served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War.  

In February 1979, he was promoted to brigadier general, the first African-American to achieve the rank in the US Marine Corps.  In May 1983, he was promoted to major general and in June 1986, to lieutenant general.  He was Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, VA in July 1988 when he retired.  

He passed away in August 2015 from lung cancer. 

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Clarence Tinker, first Native American major general in the US Air Force

Clarence Tinker, born November 21, 1887 in Indian Territory, near Pawhuska, Oklahoma, was a member of the Osage Nation and the first Native American to achieve the rank of major general in the United States Air Force.

He was raised Osage and spoke the language.  Tinker received his commission as a lieutenant in the US Army in 1912 and was transferred to the Army Air Service in 1922. In 1940, he became a brigadier general.  After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he was named Commander of the Seventh Air Force in Hawaii to reorganize the air defenses.  He was promoted to major general in January 1942.

In June 1942, he led a force against the Japanese Naval forces.  His died when his plane crashed into the sea.  

In October 1942, the Oklahoma City Air Depot was renamed Tinker Field in his honor.  It is now known as Tinker Air Force Base.