During his senior year of high school in 1948, Fred experienced his first flight in a PT-19 WW II open cockpit aircraft. That single flight set a goal for him to become a fighter pilot.
In 1954, Fred began his training to become a fighter pilot. He soled after seven hours of instruction in the T-34 at Marana AB, AZ. Next he flew the T-28 and then the T-33 jet at Laredo AFB, TX where he was awarded his pilot wings in December 1955.
Fred was selected to go onto Advanced Pilot Training at Moody AFB, GA where he learned to fly his first fighter aircraft the F-89D Scorpion. He joined the 75th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Presque Isle AFB, ME in 1956 flying the F-89D and H Scorpions. With the 75th at Dow AFB, ME, Fred flew his first supersonic jet fighter the F-101B Voodoo equipped with 2 Genie rockets armed with atomic warheads.
Having attained his goal, Fred next sought to become an experimental test pilot. In 1962, he enrolled at Oklahoma State University to earn a degree in aeronautical engineering. He graduated in 1965 but was not selected for test pilot school that had become astronaut training school.
In 1965, Fred went to 23rd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Bitburg AB, Germany to fly the F-105D Thunderchief and F-4D Phantom both Mach 2 tactical fighter aircraft armed with nuclear bombs.
Fred entered combat in the Vietnam War in 1968 with the 44th Tactical Fighter Squadron flying the F-105F Wild Weasel aircraft. It had a two-seat tandem cockpit with an electronic warfare officer in the rear. The Wild Weasel mission was to seek and destroy enemy surface to air missile sites. He flew 100 WW combat missions and 27 more in the single seat F-105D aircraft from Korat and Tahkli ABs in Thailand. For his 127 combat missions, Fred was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and 12 Air Medals. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in July 1979.