Flying for the U.S. Army Air Force
With a total of 1249 hours of combined civilian and RAF flying time, Peter transferred from the RAF to the USAAF on June 16, 1942. He immediately took two weeks of leave. Fay and Peter traveled back to Chicago, where they bought a car and traveled across the country to California. Stopping at Yellowstone for a vacation, they arrived in northern California in late June, where they took time to visit with the Tonkin family in San Francisco and the Schiro family in Sacramento.
June 29, Peter officialy reported for duty in the USAAF at Mather Field in Sacramento California (it is still in operation as a commercial field). From July 11 to August 28, Peter was assigned to gunnery school at Las Vegas Army Air Field (modern day Nellis Air Force Base). A quite time, Peter only flew for 7 hours during these two months.
September 7 1942, Peter transferred in to the eleventh air force, 343 fighter group, 42nd Troop Carrier Squadron in Alaska. Flying C-47, C-53, C-60, and C-39, he transported troops and materials until he transferred into the 344th Fighter Squadron on November 3.
He would spend the next 10 months in this squadron. Always on the move, the 344th was stationed at Elmendorf from November 3 to December 10 and at Cold Bay from December 10 to March 8, with a temporary interlude at Dutch Harbor. While Peter was in Dutch Harbor Alaska, Fay gave birth to their son Jimmy in Chicago. From March 8 to June 5 the squadron was stationed at Umnak, and Peter's final station with the Squadron was at Attu from June 10 to August 25 1943.
After a year in the frozen tundra of the Aleutians, he headed for the east cost.