Peter Graves, Man; Husband; Father and Actor

 'Childhood'  3 By his own admission, Peter had an idyllic childhood. Living not far from the banks of the Minnehaha Creak, a 22-mile-long tributary of the Mississippi river that flows east from Bray’s Bay Dam; together with James they would spend hours playing on its banks and swimming and fishing in the waters with their friends. Here Peter also learned to skillfully navigate the sometime treacherous waters in a boat, which stood him in good stead when he appeared some years later in ‘Rogue River’. To the surprise of the director who was insisting that a stunt man do the shot of the dangerous navigation of the waters, Peter insisted that he do it himself. Boys will be boys, and Peter spoke briefly about his childhood in the commentary he did for the Blu-ray release of the episode ‘Which Doctor’ that he directed at his brothers suggestion. “ Jim and I as kids, we grew up like boys I guess. There were just us two boys in the family, but Jim was the adventurous one. I rememb...

 'American Air Force 3' Mr. Graves , who by this time had risen to the rank of corporal, took up this challenge and enrolled at the University of Minnesota in 1945 majoring in Drama, and although I have found nothing to confirm it, I believe his participation in the AAF’s recruitment film had something to do with his choices from here on.   As to the often sited claim about Peter being decorated, that is partially true. He received the American Service medal and the WW2 Victory medal which all combatants received whether they served abroad or not. I personally feel that to make such unfounded claims as I have seen online, does in my mind, do little justice to either Mr. Graves who was very circumspect about his own contribution to the war, or to those who actually served and fought abroad.

 'American Air Force'   2 When his brother James was injured while serving in Germany; after he had   walked right into a German machine-gun nest, Peter managed to get a few days leave so that he could go to see him. James had been    hit in his right leg, but was still able to leap over a row of vines anyway, and out of the line of fire. Sadly, and even after many surgeries, the injury was so bad that it plagued him for the rest of his life. By 1943 the government began to realize that they had a problem on their hands. So many young men would be coming back from war soon, but there were very few jobs for them to easily fit back into. However military service was about to give Peter something he hadn’t planned for, The G.I. Bill, as during the spring of 1944 the bill unanimously passed both chambers of Congress. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into law on June 22, 1944, just days after the D-day invasion of Normandy. This enabled ex servicemen t...

 'American Air Force'   1 Peter was not quite 18 when he joined the American Air Force, 18 being the legal requirement, but he was tall enough and it helped him get in! Contrary to some information on line, Peter was not a pilot, nor was he in the strictest sense a war hero. He trained to be a bombardier, and for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, he trained on how to drop bombs so they got to their target effectively. This was mainly because , the army had discontinued pilot training by the time he joined, but he was still eager to do his bit. In fact he never left the ground on a mission either, because the AAF was closing down new intakes completely. He wrote home to his mother in frustration… “ All I’m doing is playing nursemaid to a B27”.   .   (see complete interview in ‘Interview with Ruth Aurness’ in the Interview tab). However, during this time of inactivity something interesting did happen. Early in 1942, The U.S. Army Airforce in...

 'Highschool'  3 Now he was torn. Time spent out in the field practicing his technique and preparing for the various meets, meant he had less and less time for his first love, music. He wanted to try to fit both in, but his coach took him aside and said to him…. By the time Peter turned 15, he became one of the youngest members of the Musicians Union and at 16 took another job as a radio announcer for WMIN in Minneapolis.  (Interestingly this event may have helped him to get an early uncredited part in the film ‘Up Front’ 1951, where he gave voice to the announcer on the radio in the locker room.) By the time he was due to Graduate the Southwest High School in 1944, the Southwest Wagistanian year book highlighted him as ... PETER AURNESS, 'That man has talent to spare', Class Day, Track captain, Radio club, 'S' club (track and field). But his first thought, like so many young people at that time, was to sign up, as WW2 was still raging overseas and showing no si...

 'Highschool'  2 His love of music started to pull him in another direction and he began to make money playing in dance halls. At the same time, he also started competing in Athletics races and won the state championships in the 120 yard High Hurdles in his second year. His coach didn’t approve of his job as a musician who played music late into the night in smokey halls that may end up damaging his lungs and reducing his lung capacity.  The text that goes with this picture, is below. During the late 1930s and for most of the 1940s, Minneapolis high schools dominated the Minnesota boys state track and field meet, with a Minneapolis team winning the championship 12 consecutive years. In 1943 and 1944, an athlete from Minneapolis Southwest dominated one event – the 120 yard high hurdles – winning two state titles. The athlete was named Peter Aurness. In 1943, at the University of Minnesota’s Memorial Stadium, Aurness won the event with a time of 15.5 seconds to help S...

 'Highschool' 1 Both boys grew like weeds through High School, and suffered some bullying because of it. It may have been the cause of why James slowly lost interest in scholarly pursuits and began to search wider afield to satisfy his thirst for life. Peter meanwhile, was eager to learn, and managed to put the bullying behind him, and along with his growing interest in music, he developed a love of all things ‘sport’ related.   Track and field caught his main interest, (pic 1 and 2) and he served a term on the school's Athletic Board (pic 3). As before his pursued them  with the same eagerness and determination that he had with all his pursuits. The following pictures taken from the 1943 Southwest Year Book