Peter Lloyd Drahn

Peter Lloyd Drahn passed into the Kingdom of Heaven on December 10, 2024. He was born in Oshkosh, WI, on August 3, 1942, to Oliver William and Genevra Lloyd Drahn. He graduated from Oshkosh High School in 1960, and entered West point that July.

 Pete was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force upon graduation in 1964 and graduated from pilot training at Laughlin AFB, TX, in September 1965 and was married that month. Pete’s first assignment was B-52’s at Travis AFB, CA. After nearly 1000 hours in jet aircraft, in 1967, he was assigned as a Forward Air Controller in Vietnam, flying his first propeller driven aircraft, the O-1 Bird Dog. He was back living with his army classmates and liked the mission of supporting ground troops putting in airstrikes and army and navy artillery fire. He flew over 300 combat missions in all four corps areas and numerous sorties during the first Tet Offensive in 1968. His combat decorations included the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, and 17 Air Medals. In 1968, he returned to the B-52, flying from Grand Forks AFB, ND. Disappointed that he couldn’t break out of the Strategic Air Command because of air force personnel policies during the war, he resigned his regular commission and moved to Minneapolis, MN, to fly Boeing 727’s with Northwest Airlines in 1969. In 1970, a ticket agent strike resulted in the layoff of eighty-five percent of the pilot force, and Pete was out of work.

Pete joined the IL Air National Guard at Peoria, Ill, flying O-2’s, to help put food on the table and using the GI Bill, attended graduate school. In 1972, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, with an MBA. Not wanting to sit behind a desk, he went to work for the WI Division of Aeronautics in Madison. In 1975, he was selected to become deputy airport director of the Dane County Regional Airport – Traux Field in Madison and transferred to the WI Air National Guard located at Truax.

While at Madison, Pete flew the O-2, A-37, and spent 11 years in the A-10, serving as squadron commander, vice-wing commander, and retiring in 1994, as Chief of Staff of the Wisconsin Air National Guard. Brigadier General Drahn was elected to the Wisconsin Air National Guard Hall of Fame in 2003.

In 1975, he became the airport director and built the airport into a modern air transportation facility serving twelve airlines. His proudest achievement was turning the airport into a self-supporting venture and paying back all the previous county tax subsidies put into it. He also developed a plan to increase the primary runway length using existing runway overruns to allow the Air National Guard unit to convert to a fighter unit, thereby saving it from deactivation. In 1997, he was elected Chairman of the American Association of Airport Executives and was inducted into the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame in 2014.

Pete’s first marriage did not last, and in 1991, he married Deborah Ann Redemann. Together, they were blessed with 7 grandchildren. In 2002, Pete retired from the airport after twenty-seven years and he and Deb moved to a cabin, originally built by Pete’s dad and two friends in 1946, in Arbor Vitae. They started an aviation consulting business and kept in contact with friends met during a lifetime in aviation. Deb was a pilot and became a registered nurse. Both Deb and Pete enjoyed traveling with friends, adding on to the cabin, hunting, fishing, and reading. Pete shot skeet twice a week and was an officer in the local gun club. Their greatest joy was raising Labrador retrievers and running, walking, and hunting with them. Both found Christ later in life and were founding members of a church. He loved life, his children and grandchildren, his labs, and his soul mate, Deb. He was proud to be a fighter jock and his long service to his country and lived his life with integrity, honor, strength, and courage.

Pete is survived by his wife Deb, and his sister Barbara (Bob) Swan; his three children, Matt Drahn; Sam (Cami) Drahn; and Clare (Paul) Ninneman; and six grandchildren, Aden, Lily, Maggie, Nev, Addie and Grace. Pete is preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Dick (Bev) Drahn, and his stepson, Sean Redemann.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.