Ex-aerospace engineer Peter Shepherd dies

Peter Shepherd didn't raise his voice when any of his five children started to misbehave.

"He'd make a certain face," said his son, Gerard Shepherd, 55, of Huntington, "and then we all knew it was time to get in line."

Family said the former Huntington resident was humble and gentle. His four sons never could recall their father uttering a curse word, even when he banged a finger with a hammer some 40 years ago as he helped his daughter remodel an apartment.

But there was another side to the man family and friends called "Shep," who died March 19 of heart illness at a son's home in Huntington. He was 87.

As a B-29 tail gunner for the Army Air Forces in World War II, Shepherd flew 31 combat missions until 1945 with the 6th Bombardment Group's 39th Bombardment Squadron, which eventually was stationed at Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands. On his final mission, Aug. 7-8, 1945, he drove off enemy fighters as his severely damaged plane crash-landed on Okinawa, Japan, family said.

According to military records, Shepherd entered an open bomb bay to close three doors that had been jarred open by a burst of enemy fire. His "coolness under fire" helped the plane's pilot regain control and eventually land safely.

For his actions, he was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross. During his military service, he received the Air Medal five times with four Oak Leaf clusters.

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"He never talked about what he did in the war," said his son, who discovered his father's bravery only recently, while researching family history. "When any of his four boys would ask, he'd just say he was on a B-29."

Near the end of his life, Shepherd disclosed only a little about the horror of war, his son said. "I think he was like a lot of men from that era who just moved on with his life, to the next thing."

Shepherd lived for about 40 years in Huntington after being discharged. He then worked in the defense aerospace industry as an engineer with American Bosch Arma Corp., Kollsman Inc. and Grumman Corp.

At Grumman, he worked on the Apollo Lunar Module project and also helped develop surveillance aircraft for the Navy, his son said. He retired in the mid-1980s and moved to Vero Beach, Fla., in 1989.

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Survivors also include his wife, Veronica, of Vero Beach; sister Eleanor Ross of Bellerose; sons Dennis Shepherd of Madison, Conn., and Peter Shepherd and Timothy Shepherd, both of Huntington; daughter Laurie Johnson Miele of Garden City; and 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

He was buried last Friday at Calverton National Cemetery.