Lt. Col. Dale E. Peterson was born in Concordia, KS on July 2, 1945. He graduated from Morrowville High School in 1963 and Kansas State University in 1968, being commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the USAF through ROTC. He attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, OK receiving his wings in May of 1969. He was assigned to the 3389th Pilot Training Squadron at Keesler AFB, MS, instructing foreign students in the T-28, until the squadron closed in 1973. In 1975 he took a position in the 117th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron, Kansas Air National Guard, flying the EB-57 at Forbes Air National Guard Base, Topeka, KS. In 1979 the unit transitioned to the KC-135A and later the KC-135E, assigned to the 190th Air Refueling Group. The 190th was activated for Operation Desert Shield in the fall of 1990 and Desert Storm in Jan of 1991, flying out of King Abdulaziz Int'l Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. After Desert Storm, Col. Peterson separated from the KSANG with a total of 23 years active and guard. He attained Command Pilot Wings and accumulated approx. 5,000 hrs. in various military aircraft. Among other awards and decorations he was awarded the Southwest Asia Service medal, the Liberation of Kuwait medal and the Air Medal.
In 1986 he was hired by American Airlines flying the B-727, DC-10, F-100, A-300 and B-757/767, accumulating approx. 20,000 hrs. He retired as a captain from AA in 2005. He resides in Keller, TX and Woodland Park, CO with his wife, Gloria. Their daughter, Alexandra, resides in Ft. Worth, TX.