BALTIMORE — Frank Petersen Jr., the first black aviator and brigadier general in the Marine Corps, has died at 83.

Petersen enlisted in the Navy in 1950, two years after President Truman desegregated the armed forces. The next year, he entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program. He was commissioned in the Marines in 1952.

During his career, Petersen flew more than 350 combat missions and more than 4,000 hours. Petersen was promoted to brigadier general in 1979.