by Penny Rafferty Hamilton, Ph.D.

Using SPRING as the matrix for a quick look at our inspiring aviation history, S-Sierra stands for skilled. Captain John Owen Donaldson, ace of World War I, qualifies. 

Born in 1897 in Fort Yates, ND, John was the son of General Thomas Donaldson. In 1878, the U.S. Army Post in North Dakota was named to honor Captain George Yates, killed earlier at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. In 1917, our aviation hero joined the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in Canada, before America joined the war. As a RFC pilot, Donaldson destroyed four Fokker D.VII fighters and drove down three others, causing them to crash and making Donaldson an ace. 

Eventually, the intrepid pilot was shot down and captured by the Germans. The day after his capture, he tried to escape in a German-airplane. But, an alert German sentry bayoneted John in the back. Yet, he still escaped. 

About a week later, Donaldson was recaptured only to escape again a month later. After WWI, he continued commanding American aero squadrons. Wow. Wouldn’t this story make a great movie? 

Next is P-Papa for passionate. Just look to the luminaries in the North Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame. One passionate member is the late Robert “Bob” Odegaard, born in Kindred, ND. He was an aviation inventor, air show performer and racer, Fargo Air Museum contributor, and much more. 

R or Romeo is next for record-setting. The world’s fastest pilot hails from Hazen, ND. On July 28, 1976, Eldon W. “Al” Joersz strapped in tightly to his SR-71A Blackbird with fellow aviator, George Morgan, to fly faster than a speeding rifle bullet, setting the world speed record of over 2,193 miles per hour. Mercer County Regional Airport-Al Joersz Field honors this decorated Vietnam combat fighter pilot and aviation legend. 

I-India is for Inspiring. This leads to Jamestown Municipal Airport, where in 1929, newly married pilot Evelyn Nicholas Burleson landed, after earning her pilot license and barnstorming in Nebraska years earlier. Evelyn and her husband, Howard, ran a flying service at Jamestown from 1931-1937. In 1933, Evelyn became the first woman in North Dakota to earn her transport pilot’s license. She added charter flights to the services out of the airfield. She said, “I used to fly barnstorming shows in North Dakota during the Depression. We used to send an advance man to a town to pick out a field and tack up some posters. Then, we’d hit town on the weekend and put on a couple of shows for the folks. One of our tricks was to toss rolls of toilet paper out of the planes, so they’d unravel all the way down. Well, when we landed, we went back to pick up the toilet paper-but we couldn’t find any. You have to remember how poor everyone was. One lady in the audience picked it all up-a whole month’s supply.” 

Which brings us to the last letter in spring: G-Golf for Game Changer. In 1933, Bruce Peterson was born in Washburn, ND. He became an aeronautical engineer and a NASA test pilot. As a research pilot, Peterson flew a wide variety of airplanes and suffered many crashes. His unselfish efforts resulted in game changing aeronautical designs. Interestingly, actual film footage from one spectacular Peterson crash landing of a test flight of a M2-F2 was used in the opening credits of the popular television series, The Six Million Dollar Man, starring actor Lee Majors. Almost every week from 1973-1978, Majors portrayed a fictitious former astronaut, U.S. Air Force Colonel Steve Austin. Bruce Peterson was real and logged more than 6,000 flight hours in nearly 70 types of aircraft. 

North Dakota skies invite you to SPRING forward and make your own aviation history. 

Mercer County is home to world speed record holder, Al Joersz. Forty-five years ago, he clocked over 2,193 miles per hour SR-71 Blackbird. (NASA photograph)