Eugene Peyton Deatrick - Awards and Honors

Awards and Honors

During his career, Deatrick flew more than 50 different types of aircraft and accumulated more than 12,000 hours of flying. He was awarded the Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Medal with 22 oak leaf clusters and the Bronze Star for Valor. In 1969, he earned a Masters Degree from George Washington University.

Deatrick was one of the twelve founding members of the East Coast chapter of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) in 1959, and he served as symposium chairman for the sixth annual SETP conference in 1962. Deatrick was made an Honorary Member of the Fighter Aces Association in 1968. He served as President of the National Aviation Club for three years and is a member of the International Order of Characters, the Order of Daedalians, the Air Force Association, and the Quiet Birdmen. In 1995, Deatrick and Dengler presented a lecture at the Estrella Warbird Museum describing Dengler's imprisonment and rescue. The lecture was well received and eventually recorded as part of the National Museum of the United States Air Force’s Guest Lecture Series. In January 1999, he received the National Aeronautic Association's Cliff Henderson Award for Aviation Achievement.

In 2000, Deatrick was awarded membership in the Gathering of Eagles along with other noted aviators including Ollie Crawford, Duke Cunningham, Fitz Fulton, Michael Novosel, Günther Rall, Ed Rector, and Chuck Yeager. In 2001, Deatrick was selected as the Distinguished Alumnus of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School and spoke at the graduation dinner banquet. In 2005, he received the National Aeronautic Association's Wesley L. McDonald Elder Statesman of Aviation award for his service to the United States military, especially as one of its top test pilots. In 2006, Deatrick was an invited panelist for the 38th National Conference on Aviation and Space Education's Hangar Talk tribute to the late Scott Crossfield. In 2007, he was recognized as a "famous flyer" of the A-1 Skyraider. At the 51st Symposium in Anaheim, California, Deatrick was interviewed as part of SETP's History Series documenting the flight test careers of noted test pilots.