barrier in a North American F-86 Sabre fighter jet. The award was the "Mach Busters Club" Citation for exceeding the Speed of Sound from North American Aviation Chairman of the Board James Howard Kindelberger and President John Leland Atwood. Personal life Fladmark married Phyllis Peterson (1922–2003) on November 13, 1950, at First Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They had a son and a daughter. She grew up on a farm in rural South Dakota. Her family was of Danish and Norwegian national heritage. Death On July 27, 1955, Fladmark, two other Air Force officers and a General Electric gas turbine engineer who was driving a 1955 Ford Fairlane hardtop convertible were killed when the car overturned on an access road to Yuma County Airport near Yuma, Arizona. He was survived by his wife Phyllis, son Gary, daughter Vicki, father Oscar C. Fladmark, Sr., mother Pethryn Fladmark and brother Captain Lorentz W. Fladmark. His widow sued General Electric, but lost the case in 1956. The lawsuit which went to trial was initially investigated by JAG under the direction of Major General Jarred V. Crabb, Commanding Officer. Subsequent to the investigation a Wrongful Death action was filed through a law firm with offices in the Federal Reserve Building, Kansas City, Missouri. Decorations Fladmark's Military Decorations and Awards: Other Honors and Recognitions: Charter Member of the South Dakota Air National Guard in 1946, "Mach Busters Club" Citation for exceeding the Speed of Sound in 1954 by North American Aviation Chairman of the Board James Howard Kindelberger and President John Leland Atwood Memorials A memorial bronze plaque was dedicated to Fladmark at the Gilbert Science Center on the campus of Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, by his father in 1965. Oscar C. Fladmark, Sr. often dedicated his KSOO radio broadcasts to his son. Fladmark's biography is listed on the "Wall of Honor" at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center facility near the Washington Dulles International Airport, Fairfax, Virginia. References External links Major Oscar Fladmark at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Major Oscar Fladmark at the American Air Museum in Britain 1922 births 1955 deaths Aviators from South Dakota United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War American Korean War pilots Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal