FORT PIERCE FOLKS
GREG GARDNER PHOTOS
The NAVIGATOR
Osmond C. “Pete” Peterson constructed more than 100 buildings during a 50-year career in Fort Pierce. A well-known craftsman in wood and metal, the
100-year-old Peterson lost part of his finger in a horseback riding accident.
53
BY GREG GARDNER
As a contractor, Osmond C. “Pete” Peterson was a major
53
contributor to the construction of buildings and
developments throughout Fort Pierce.
Now at age 100, he also looks back to his important
role as a flight navigator during World War II.
The retired Air Force lieutenant colonel referred to those
heroics in the dedication of his 2012 book, My Dipper Is Full,
writing: “The title is also fitting as I remember those years long
ago when I guided aircraft and their crews halfway around
the world using only the stars for reference, just as sailors and
explorers of old had done from the decks of their ships.”
Peterson was the celestial navigator for 48 missions, logging
3,500 hours during the war. He and his crewmen ferried
planes, cargo and troops through dangerous skies to the Allies
in Europe and Africa.
They flew a load of gold to exiled Chinese leader Chiang
Kai-shek, and on another flight they flew 56 American soldiers
wounded in the Battle of the Bulge from France across
the Atlantic Ocean to the U.S. When he wasn’t navigating,
Peterson helped the nurses who treated the troops during the
entire 30-hour flight.
Blurry vision kept him out of the pilot’s seat, but Peterson
took the suggestion that he become a navigator. One third
of his class went on to the 8th Air Force, where many crews
were shot down, their planes crashed or they ended up in
German prison camps. One third were retained as instructors,
and Peterson ended up in the third of the class that ferried
planes to the war effort.
Peterson flew missions on the Snow Ball route north to
Russia and the Crescent Caravan to North Africa. But the
most challenging route was the Fire Ball, which involved a
series of hops through the Caribbean and down the coast of
South America before the long leg from Brazil to Ascension
Island for refueling and the last leg to a British base in Ghana.
Peterson adjusted his sextant to use the stars for navigation
out the gun turret for the correct heading. There is no margin
of error when looking for tiny Ascension Island in the middle
of the Atlantic Ocean.
On one flight, Peterson gave the heading and the pilot said
it was 15 degrees off what the radio homing signal said. “I >>