Assemblyman Gray honors local veteran at Castle Air Museum

Assemblyman Adam Gray honored local veteran Peter “Scotty” Burns on Thursday at the Veterans Advisory Committee Meeting at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater.

It was fitting that the meeting was held under the wing of a B-52.

Burns flew 448 missions over Vietnam as a B-52 tail-gunner, logging 2,600 combat hours and 7,000 flight hours.

Later, Burns worked at Castle Air Force Base and trained B-52 pilots in simulators from 1984 until the base was decommissioned in 1995.

He is a Life Member of VFW Post 9946 in Winton, a founding member of the Castle Air Museum and a Life Member of the B-52 Stratofortress Association. Burns has been awarded more than 20 medals and commendations for his service.

This story was originally published September 26, 2019 at 5:57 PM.