He was promoted to Major while commanding a reserve squadron just before the Korean war; his squadron was subsequently activated and deployed to Korea. He gained a reputation for firing on enemy trains, to the point of painting locomotive silhouettes on his F4U Corsair for each "kill." Flying combat missions off the escort carrier USS "Badoeng Strait", he is shot down over enemy territory, but survives and returns to friendly lines. First Appearance: "Semper Fi"  Fleming Pickering, father of Pick Pickering, is the owner and chairman of Pacific and Far Eastern Shipping, a large and successful worldwide shipping conglomerate. During the First World War, he was a Marine corporal, and was twice wounded in action during the Battle of Belleau Wood where he was awarded the Navy Cross, (the second-highest award for valour and the equivalent of the Distinguished Service Cross). Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, then-Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox asked him to take a wartime commission as a Navy Captain and act as Knox's plenipotentiary in the Pacific theater. During this period of his World War II service he was awarded the Navy Cross. Later, Pickering was commissioned a Marine Brigadier General, after which he served as OSS Deputy Director for the Pacific and the CIA's Deputy Director for Asia. First Appearance: "Semper Fi"  Ernestine "Ernie" Sage is the daughter of a pharmaceutical magnate. The Pickering and Sage families are old friends; Ernie and Pick have known each other since childhood. Ernie meets - and falls in love with - Ken McCoy shortly before he and Pick earn their officer commissions. They are married and have one child. First Appearance: "Line of Fire"  George Hart, a St. Louis homicide detective before the war, was conned into the Corps by a zealous (and unscrupulous) recruiter. During boot camp, he was transferred and promoted to Sergeant to act as BrigGen Pickering's personal bodyguard. He was promoted to Captain while in command of a reserve rifle company before Korea erupts, and went back to serve with General Pickering. First Appearance: "Semper Fi"  Patricia Pickering has been the Chairman of the Foster Hotel chain since her father, Andrew Foster, died in the years between World War II and the Korean War. She is the wife of Fleming Pickering and mother to Malcolm ("Pick") Pickering. Notably, while her husband was serving in the Pacific during World War II, she also served as the chairman of Pacific & Far East Shipping, her husband's international company.