Lawrence K. Peterson

Lawrence K. (Larry) Peterson graduated from the University of California, Davis, with a B.S. in Soil and Water Science in 1967, and received an M.B.A. from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, in 1972. After serving as a seasonal park ranger in Yosemite National Park in 1966, he was hired right out of college as a permanent National Park Service ranger at Colorado National Monument. This service was interrupted by being commissioned as a USAF officer, ultimately stationed at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska as a communications officer, giving him an introduction to military operations. Leaving the USAF as a captain, he returned to Colorado National Monument where he gained further NPS experience and love of history. He chose to enter aviation via the GI Bill and after many flying jobs including chief pilot, chief flight instructor, and corporate pilot, he was hired by United Airlines in 1988. He retired as a Boeing 757/767 Standards Captain in 2004. In 1995 he began in depth research into the Civil War and in particular his great-great-grandfather Brigadier General Alfred J. Vaughan Jr., CSA. This research included some historical family records and culminated in his biography of General Vaughan which was published in 2013. He has also been published in "North & South Magazine." He is currently working on additional Civil War books. He and his wife Kathleen reside in Evergreen, Colorado.