Patrol: The Final Month
Peter’s final flight log entry was on August 25, 1943—his last day of duty in the 344th fighter squadron. Within a month of leaving Alaska he died.
Entries in his flight log end with his duty in Alaska and preliminary requests for his military records from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) indicate that his records may have been destroyed in a fire at the Saint Louis repository in the 1973. With limited written documentation it is difficult to piece together Peter’s final month.
Upon completion of his duty in Alaska, Peter was promoted to the rank of major. He and his wife Fay, along with their son Jim, traveled to the eastern coast of the United States. The squadron he was assigned to is unknown at this time. It is believed he was flying out of Richmond Virginia, and was routinely flying patrols on the eastern coast looking for German u-boats.
On October 29, 1943, Peter was on a low altitude patrol, when his wing man clipped his tail. He went into a tail spin, to low to eject, he was instantaneously killed upon impact.
The crash occurred in Wake county, North Carolina. Just southeast of Raleigh, the accident occurred in a farmer's field of off U.S. Route 70.
Peter was 31 years old. He is buried at Mount Olive Cemetery in Chicago.
