Early Life
Gustafson was born in St. Peter, Minnesota in 1929. His grandparents were Swedish immigrants and his father, Herbert C. Gustafson was an artilleryman in France during World War I. Both parents were offspring of Swedish immigrants. In the early part of his life he lost the tip of his right index finger in a farming accident. Later on his flying career was almost ended because the Air Force considered it a "missing digit" but later changed its classification to a "terminal digit."
Read more about this topic: Gerald Gustafson
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