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This is Lee Habib, and this is our American Stories, the show where America is the star. and the American people. If you search for the Our American Stories podcast, go Go to the iHeartRadio app. or wherever you get your podcasts. On the morning of September 11, 2001, Peter Braxton was the first military pilot in the air over the Burning Twin Towers in Lower Manhattan.
It was his first day on the job. Not long after he did multiple tours of flight combat in the Middle East and then retired from the Air Force. Here's Peter with the story about the phone call he received. shortly after his retirement. You know, I was a distinguished graduate, and well, why didn't you fly F-15s or F-22s or?
F-16s and You got to remember, I want to be a doctor, A, B. This is before the war. C, I was homesick. I wanted to go home. I promise you, if the closest Air Force base to where I grew up was a fighter base, I would have.
Picked a fighter. I wanted to go home. And I was happy with my choice. Until one day I was listening to this. Israeli F sixteen fighter pilot.
And he said, Well, you know, well, why did I fly a fighter? And he said, Because it was personal. We were being attacked in my neighborhood, and my sister was there and you can fly an F-16 across Israel and 22 seconds. You know, I mean, that's how small the country is kind of width wise and You know, for him it was personal. And I remember thinking, you know what?
If this was if this was a day after nine if this Yeah, it's personal. Right. I'm from New York. And so An interesting story. That I've told is after I got out of the Air Force and I was fully out, I was in business school.
I got a call. from the Pentagon. And the voice on the phone said, Hey, is this Peter Braxton? Yes, it is. Do you still have your uniform?
Yes, I have my uniform. It's been a couple of months. Does it still fit? Yeah. You know, I'm not sitting on the couch eating Cheetos.
Yeah, I mean, still fits, but you know, everyone who's been in the military knows it's illegal. You're not allowed to wear your uniform after. you get out, it's you know, you can keep it, you can't wear it. And so this kernel Said, hey, um Can you meet me at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois? And you know, meet me Saturday morning, 10 a.m.
At this building. And I'm like, is this a ju you know, this is my buddies. This is a joke. It's another joke. Is this another?
You know, who is this? He says, This is Colonel so-and-so. And We'd like to talk to you. And I also Okay. The joke's on you.
Like, I'm not supposed to do this.
So, I'm out of the Air Force, it's a Saturday. I show up and it lives like a Jason-Bourne kind of boardroom. with a big lawn table. And six Colonels Wearing full service dress uniform, which, you know, you don't see that unless you're at a funeral, I mean, at a funeral, right?
So. And so I sat down. They said, no, you sit over there at the other end.
So I sat at the very end of the other table, and they sat at the other end. This table sat like 24 people. and proceeded to interview me for the job of Air Force 2. This is Dick Cheney back in the day, 2007. Yeah.
And that, you know, I mean. As a gentleman, like I'm I'm out. They're like, we can change that with one signature. And so I talked to them and And they kind of offered me the job. Just think about it, talk to your family.
So I did. I called my brother. And he said, Pete, you know, you spent all this time. deploying and And, you know, getting into taking the GMAT and getting into business school and Getting out of the Air Force. You want to go back in?
And this is the I mean it's the ultimate job, right? It's the ultimate. It's like the Thunderbirds for heavy transport airfielding jets. Honored to be asked.
So I remember I got the job at Credit Suisse. Over the summer, And Um, you know, they asked me not to shop it. Like, don't go to don't go across the street to JP Morgan or Goldman and and kind of like try to Get a job. Just, you know, if you want the job, take the job. You know, tell us.
And so I remember saying, I want the job. And I went back to the president of the bank, the managing director, and I said, sir, you know. I got a question. Can I defer this? For a year.
I need to go back and try to do this. And you know, congratulations, that's an amazing honor. But no, you can't defer it. You you either take the job or you You have to give it to somebody else. I said, Okay.
So I ran back and, you know, and I called the guys up. And I look at the Pentagon. I said, hey. Can I defer this for a year? I spent all this time going to business school.
I got this job in an investment bank. I'd love to do that, but I just need a year and then I can kind of like. They're like, no, you. You gotta either take the job. you know now it's it's Not an exploding offer, but it's not.
guaranteed. We just have this need and and And so I kind of thought long and hard. And I had flown at that point, I had flown Donald Rumsfeld. Around in the KC10. You know, I would say by all intents and purposes, the fastest jet in the world.
Because we don't have to stop. We can sustain 0.92 mock. almost indefinitely if we have enough fuel and then we can get refueled. And so I ultimately turned the job down. And you know, this is another funny true story.
My roommate. From the Air Force Academy, is currently the Commander of Air Force One.
Now, I'm not going to say his name because he's not posting the stuff on social media, and I don't think he really wants. everyone to know. You know, that he's the 17th ever presidential pilot.
So he flew for Obama and then Trump and then now Biden and potentially whoever. is either A relec re reelected or elected next, but He got the job. And he's an outstanding American. And a great aviator. And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling by our own Greg Hengler.
And a special thanks to Peter Braxton for sharing the story of the interview he got to be the pilot of Air Force Two after graduating. with a Master's of Business in accepting a job offer at Credit Suisse. Which way did he go? Which did he choose?
Well, he chose, in the end, his future life as a civilian, but what a job offer it was. The story of Peter Braxton's first job after his military service. Here. on Our American Stories. Uh Lee Habib here, the host of Our American Stories.
Every day on this show, we're bringing inspiring stories from across this great country. Stories from our big cities and small towns. But we truly can't do this show without you. Our stories are free to listen to, but they're not free to make. If you love what you hear, go to ouramericanstories.com and click the donate button.
Give a little, give a lot. Go to ouramericanstories.com and give. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years. And now it takes form in a new way.
The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q.
Spending time outdoors, then let's talk about skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancers, or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the U.S. and can become harder to treat. If left undetected. That's why sun protection and timely detection matter.
Our sponsor, Regeneron, is raising awareness about advanced NMSCs. Learn more and take the pledge to see a dermatologist annually at Let's Get RealaboutskinCancer.com. Uh You've watched racing.
Now get behind the wheel. At Kaizen Autosport Racing School at VIR, professional race drivers teach you how to drive faster, safer, and with more confidence on one of America's legendary racetracks. Never driven on track? We'll get you started. Already experienced, we'll take you to the next level.
Ready to race? Earn your competition license and learn real wheel-to-wheel racecraft. Stop watching, start driving. Go to racevir.com. That's racevir.com.
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