Into the Tiger's Jaw: America's First Black Marine Aviator

by Frank E. Petersen, J. Alfred Phelps

Peterson joined the American Navy in 1950 and so began a career of achievement, endurance and exciting adventure. In this memoir, he traces his rise through the ranks of the American forces to become a Marine three-star general.

Genres: Nonfiction, Military Fiction, Biography Memoir, Autobiography

336 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 1998

Reviews

[Jose · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read about this Gentleman/Soldier passing away, I knew I had to enhance my knowledge of a life well lived! The book was a walk through the history of the mid 20th century from a personal perspective from a man who was happened to be right in the middle of it. It was a thoroughly engaging read. It has all of the personal pathos one would expect from a man who just wanted to fly planes. But it tells the story of "progress" of a people and by extension of a nation. I was especially taken when as Commander of the Marine base at Quantico, he was involved in some high profile spy cases that involved the Marines. That was especially enlightening! i highly recommend the reading of this biography.

[Dave Beeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Wouldn't what to have been LtGen Petersen and gone through all the racial issues he had to face. While he paints a realistic picture of the Armed Forces in the 1950's - 80's there are some discrepancies that need to be noted. In this readers opinion, had anyone other than author gone above his commanders head directly to Headquarters Marine Corps to get his orders changed from cycling into C-130's (transports) from fighter aircraft would have been sent directly back to his duty station with the simple explanation that the needs of the Marine Corps came ahead of the want's of the individual. It is interesting to note that the general officer he replaced at Quantico had both transport and fighter aircraft ratings. I'm sure it is a overlooked misprint but the officer students at the general's retirement parade were not First Lieutenants but Second Lieutenants. Second Lieutenants attend Officer Basic School. Finally, he completely overlooks the fact that one of the reasons so many African-Americans were in Vietnam is that the services had "McNamara's 100,000" to deal with. The SecDef decided that he would populate the Armed Forces with a group of "Cat IV" (mental category 4 based on the ASVAB); the lowest category. As the author points out quite clearly the socio-economic factors of the time a majority of these "Cat IV's were minorities. We were still dealing with this group into the early and mid 1970's. Other than a couple of issues the author is to be given a thumbs up for telling it like it was.

[Bill Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

LtGen Petersen was my first commanding general at Quantico. I didn’t see him often but when he entered the room, he had a tremendous commanding presence. He walked with that limp that he writes about. I was fascinated to read about the experiences that he had breaking the color barrier in Marine aviation. He, and the others, are pioneers that should be commemorated.

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there are aircraft from props to jets and tales of combat in Korea and Vietnam that's very much not what this work is about. It's not a novel of combat but rather a look at race relations and the difficulties of racism within the USMC/US military throughout the civil rights era and afterward. Frank describes throughout the difficulties faced by racism throughout America and abroad starting with an adolescence in Kansas through the issue's faced between white and black marines in combat tours throughout SE Asia and the fight he was able to help lead against it in his later years. As Peterson got to the highest general ranks of the Corps there is also a lot of politicing in the back third of the novel, in many ways reminding me of large sections of Victor Krulak's First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Two noteworthy things I want to know about the book in form itself. First, the writing legitimately sounds like an old family member or friend sitting around reminiscing and telling stories. That sort of verbiage gets thrown around a lot in book reviews but this is the first time I've ever read something that truly made me feel that way. The other unique thing it does is insert quotes on events from family, acquaintance, and friends. Not infrequently it will show these events in a fairly significant difference, reminding the reader an important part of autobiographies and memoirs is that our perspective is some level of biased and not a perfect representation of events.

Overall though, not really a war memoir or something heavily focused on the in and outs of physical aviation, it's an interesting look at the side of the military most works don't give us a look into.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, providing the autobiography of Frank E. Petersen Jr., the first Black Marine Corps General Officer. The narrative focuses on Petersen’s career as a Marine Corps Aviator during the Korean War, Vietnam, and the late Cold War, detailing both his professional challenges and personal experiences. The book includes a deep exploration of Petersen’s family and personal life, offering a broader understanding of how he overcame obstacles in his military career and the many people who influenced his life. His story highlights the evolving nature of America’s military culture during the Cold War and the significant transformations that shaped the Marine Corps. A great book for understanding the intersection of personal resilience and institutional change. Highly recommended for those interested in the shifting dynamics of the U.S. Armed Forces in the Cold War era.

[Bari Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this well-written and inspirational memoir of a true patriot. I really appreciate, the late, General Petersen sharing his amazing story to include him enlisting in the Navy, becoming an Officer and the first Black Marine Aviator, the obstacles, i.e., segregation, discrimination, etc. he and his family encountered during his career, the two wars, i.e., Korean and Vietnam he fought in, and the many other accomplishments to include becoming the first black Marine Corps General (reaching 3 stars) and sacrifices he endured throughout his career. The amazing part of this story is that some of the issues he faced during his career in the 1950's and 1980's are still relevant and being fought today. A must read!

[Chris Haar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story