John R. “Bob” Pardo, a “MiG-Killer” credited with one victory and three assists, performed one of the most spectacular feats of piloting during the war in Southeast Asia. Pardo grew up in Heame, Texas, and after a year of college, entered the...
Don Parker, a true Army Aviation pioneer, provided the vision, the masterful leadership, and the commitment necessary to consolidate and modernize Army Aviation during its formative years. Born in Sadlersville, Tennessee in 1932, Parker dreamed of flying since his...
Ralph Sherman Parr is a jet fighter ace whose unique combination of flying ability, significant achievement, and heroic service span three wars and five combat tours. Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, on 1 July 1924, the son of a Navy pilot, he received his wings and was...
Deanie Bishop Parrish, like so many of the Greatest Generation, doesn’t consider herself a hero. She regards her service as one of the elite Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) as an honor and a privilege. Born in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, in 1922, Deanie grew...
Gaillard R. “Evil” Peck, Jr. was an Air Force warrior and pioneer. During a military career spanning 26 years, and with experiences ranging from F-4D combat missions over Vietnam to MiG-21 training flights over the Tonopah Test Range, he accumulated 5,000 hours flying...
The youngest-ever general in the Luftwaffe, Dietrich Peltz joined the Army in 1934. While attending the Army cadet school, he was transferred to the first instructional class of the Luftwaffe, earning his wings in 1936. Only two weeks prior to the beginning of World...
Major Heather “Lucky” Penney was one of the first female pilots to go directly into fighters from pilot training and was the first female fighter pilot in the District of Columbia Air National Guard. Heather Penney was born into aviation. Her father was an A-7 pilot...
A triple Ace in the Korean conflict and Hero of the Soviet Union, Evgeny Georgevich Pepelyaev’s natural talent as an aviator was apparent early in his career. He was born 18 March 1918 into the family of a machinist in Bodaybo, Irkutsk, in Eastern Siberia....
Frank E. Petersen, Jr., made history in the United States Marines, initially when he became the first black pilot and later as the first black general in the Corps. Petersen was born in 1932 in Topeka, Kansas, and grew up just 10 miles from an army airfield used for...
For the Americans serving with the famed “Eagle” Squadrons in the Royal Air Force, World War II began well before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Chesley “Pete ” Peterson is the highest decorated and among the most successful of these airmen who...
Theodore Argyres “T. A.” Petras was the first person to aerially explore one of the final frontiers of Earth–Antarctica–taking off and landing where no one had been before. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1929 and served briefly in Haiti...
Dr. Bertrand Piccard was the captain of the first hot-air balloon team to circumnavigate the globe. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1958 into a family of explorers and scientists, Piccard was enamored with adventure at an early age and inspired by his grandfather,...
Colonel (ret) Spiro N. “Steve” Pisanos flew 110 combat missions in Spitfires, P-47 Thunderbolts, and P-51 Mustangs during World War II, becoming a double-ace. He was born in Athens, Greece, in 1919, the son of a subway driver. At the age of 11, he heard the humming...
Tom Poberezny is a world champion acrobatic pilot and one of the United States’ foremost civil aviation advocates. Born into an “aviation family” in 1946, he is the son of Paul Poberezny, founder of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). The...
As a reconnaissance pilot, General Bryce Poe II helped write a chapter of aviation history during the Korean War. Born in 1924, he completed pilot training prior to graduating from West Point in 1946. Following graduation, he became a member of one of the Air...
Vitali Ivanovich Popkov, a native of Moscow, is one of Russia’s most honored war veterans. In 194 1, upon completion of high school, Popkov volunteered for duty in the Soviet Army. After graduation from the Chuguev military aviation school in May 1941, he...
Hank Potter was Jimmy Doolittle’s navigator in the first plane to launch for their famous Tokyo Raid. Born in Pierre, South Dakota, 1918, Henry “Hank” Potter entered the Army Air Corps as an Aviation Cadet in July of 1940, and graduated as a...
Ramsay Potts, at age 26, led a bomber force during one of World War II’s most historic missions! Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Potts attended the University of North Carolina, and in 1941 graduated Phi Beta Kappa. In May, he enlisted as an aviation cadet...
Major General Cecil W. Powell is one of the Air Force’s most experienced test and fighter pilots. Born in Port Arthur, Texas in 1935, he starred in high school football, and won an appointment to the Naval Academy. Upon graduation from Annapolis, he was...
Captain Roland de la Poype was the second ranking ace and youngest squadron commander in the Normandie-Niemen Regiment, a group of French volunteer pilots who fought on the Russian Front during World War II. Having flown civilian aircraft prior to his entry into...
In 1950, as a “green” second lieutenant, Ralph Puckett formed, trained, and commanded the first Ranger Company to fight in Korea. A native of Tifton, Georgia, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve as he turned seventeen. He earned an appointment...
Risto Olli P. Puhakka, one of Finland’s leading aces during two wars against the Russians, joined other pilots from his small but gallant country in forging an unforgettable chapter in aviation history. In 1935, he was conscripted into the world’s second...
