Gerald Gustafson (born September 14, 1928) was a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

after the

post-war In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

period of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. His most notable achievements came during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, where he was awarded the Air Force Cross.

Early life

Gustafson was born in

St. Peter, Minnesota St. Peter is a city in Nicollet County, Minnesota, United States. It is 10 miles north of the Mankato – North Mankato metropolitan area. The population was 12,066 at the 2020 census. St. Peter is the county seat of Nicollet County and home ...

in 1928. His grandparents were Swedish immigrants and his father, Herbert C. Gustafson was an artilleryman in France during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Both parents were offspring of Swedish immigrants. In the early part of his life he lost the tip of his right index finger in a farming accident. Later on his flying career was almost ended because the Air Force considered it a "missing digit" but later changed its classification to a "terminal digit."

Air Force Service

Gustafson initially joined the Air Force in 1950 and after completing basic training in Texas was trained in the use of bombardier equipment on the B-26. After completing his training and missing service in the Korean War, he was approved for a new pilot program and trained in Piper Cubs and

T-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air force ...

s. He received advanced fighter training in the P-80 Shooting Star. After his officer and flight training, Gustafson was stationed in Wisconsin;

Thule, Greenland Qaanaaq (), formerly known as Thule or New Thule, is the main town in the northern part of the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the local Inukt ...

; Texas; and California. During this time he flew F-86D Sabres, F-102s, and F-106 Delta Darts. Immediately before his Vietnam service, he was cross trained in the

F-105 Thunderchief The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American supersonic fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Viet ...

out of

Nellis AFB Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military Oper ...

. After his service in Vietnam, he flew F-105s out of Okinowa. Republic F-105D cockpit 060901-F-1234S-009

Air Force Cross

Gerald Gustafson won the Air Force Cross, the second highest award for gallantry in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

, during the

. He flew

F-105 The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American supersonic fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Viet ...

Thunderchiefs from

Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base is a Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) facility in central Thailand, approximately 144 miles (240 km) northwest of Bangkok in Takhli District, Nakhon Sawan Province. Units Takhli is the home of the Royal Tha ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

and was shot down on two occasions. He was awarded the medal in November, 1967. His citation noted that "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 November 19, 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 forced 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." Gustafson along with Lieutenant Colonel Robert W. Smith and Major Bruce Stocks all received Air Force Crosses for the same mission on November 19, 1967.

Post-Air Force

After Vietnam, Gustafson was put off of flying duty due to an injury which left his eye unable to dilate properly. He was transferred first to attend at the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

, then worked at the

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...

. He retired with the rank of Colonel in 1979 to New Richland. Gustafson is actively involved in the

VFW The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as United States Armed Forces, military service members fought in wars, Military campaign, campaigns, ...

, the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, and the

Air Force Association The Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, professional military association for the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, its declared mission is " ...

. He often speaks to students and classes about his experiences.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gustafson, Gerald 1928 births Living people American people of Swedish descent Aviators from Minnesota United States Air Force colonels United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United States) People from St. Peter, Minnesota Military personnel from Minnesota