Posted by Robert E. Viator on May 29, 2017:

I never met Capt Peter Van Matre in the flesh, but I knew him well. He was the bravest man my life ever crossed paths with. Let me explain. In 1956 I was a lowly enlisted man, Airman 1st Class, at Eglin Air Force Base. Trained as an aerial photographer by the Air Force, I handled film for cockpit cameras and motion picture cameras recording test instrumentation. I think it was in 1956 that I watched Capt. Van Matre land a new F-104 Starfighter that on takeoff had blown a tire on its main landing gear-- the starboard side tire, I think I remember. No one had ever before landed that aircraft with a blown tire. The commander gave Capt. Van Matre the option of bailing out over the Gulf and parachuting to safety. Air Sea Rescue craft would be standing by to scoop him from the water. Instead he opted to try landing the crippled Starfighter on Eglin's main landing strip. I, along with hundreds of others, stood by and watched in horrible fascination. The fire crews covered the landing strip with foam to suppress sparks and (hopefully) prevent fire. Van Matre touched down on the left main tire, then the nose wheel, and then when he had slowed as much as possible while still keeping the right wingtip up, the blown tire. The tire disintegrated instantly. Sparks flew despite the foam as the wheel and wheel hub ground along the concrete. Eventually the aircraft slowed and stopped, half the hub ground away. It was the gutsiest act I had ever witnessed. He risked his life to save the country a million dollars or so. Months later Van Matre was killed when his aircraft crashed after takeoff. I happened to be processing film from his cockpit recording camera a day or two after. I watched his ghostly image as he turned to the camera to see that the light was on, and then turned back to his work so that only the back of his head and the instruments were working. The following day he was killed. I saw the wreckage. His life had been snuffed out instantly. This morning I hung our flag out to catch the Memorial Day breeze. I was thinking of Capt Van Matre, West Point graduate and hero. A really fine human being.

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