RIP-George Petrie-Son Tay Raider

[Hognose]

Originally Posted by BackInTheDay

Very cold and blustery day at Dallas National Cemetery. My 7 & 8 year old did a great job laying wreaths. Not a great pic, but the Silver Star listed on George's headstone is for his participation in the Son Tay raid.

He actually had two, I believe one from a previous tour.

He was a great guy. All the Raiders seemed to me to rise in stature and accomplishments as the years went on. Maybe one of them turned into a bum but I never heard of him. Instead there was Jakovenko, Poole†, Petrie†. Too many of them now †.

One thing about George Petrie. He and his wife were also animal lovers on a scale to match his military accomplishments. They saved a lot of dependent little furry things.

He was also what Malcolm Gladwell called a "connector." Ten years or so ago -- maybe more -- I was looking for a guy from a particular A-Camp. George and Bill Coombs connected me to an officer who'd been in the camp, George Dooley. When I talked to Dooley, I mentioned he had the same last name as the Vietnam SF cartoonist who was KIA -- and got the story of the loss of Mike Dooley, from a man who was there.

It's a privilege for a younger guy to have known any of those Vietnam era guys. They prosecuted that war, and then, the much tougher job of keeping SF alive through the peace.

Thank you and your kids for this service to the dead -- and the living.