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<span class=prefix>SSGT</span> George Peterson

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SSGT George Peterson Veteran Famous memorial

Birth
Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, USA
Death
30 Mar 1945 (aged 32)
Eisern, Kreis Siegen-Wittgenstein, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Burial
Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands GPS-Latitude: 50.8165, Longitude: 5.8054
Plot
Plot D, Row 21, Grave 10
Memorial ID
View Source
World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. He was issued the award posthumously on October 17, 1945 for his actions as a staff sergeant with Company K, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, US Army, on March 30, 1945, near Eisern, Germany, during the final days of World War II. He was also awarded the Purple Heart. His Medal of Honor citation reads: "He was an acting platoon sergeant with Company K, near Eisern, Germany. When his company encountered an enemy battalion and came under heavy small-arms, machinegun, and mortar fire, the 2d Platoon was given the mission of flanking the enemy positions while the remaining units attacked frontally. S/Sgt. Peterson crept and crawled to a position in the lead and motioned for the 2d Platoon to follow. A mortar shell fell close by and severely wounded him in the legs, but, although bleeding and suffering intense pain, he refused to withdraw and continued forward. Two hostile machineguns went into action at close range. Braving this grazing fire, he crawled steadily toward the guns and worked his way alone to a shallow draw, where, despite the hail of bullets, he raised himself to his knees and threw a grenade into the nearest machinegun nest, silencing the weapon and killing or wounding all its crew. The second gun was immediately turned on him, but he calmly and deliberately threw a second grenade which rocked the position and killed all 4 Germans who occupied it. As he continued forward he was spotted by an enemy rifleman, who shot him in the arm. Undeterred, he crawled some 20 yards until a third machinegun opened fire on him. By almost superhuman effort, weak from loss of blood and suffering great pain, he again raised himself to his knees and fired a grenade from his rifle, killing 3 of the enemy guncrew and causing the remaining one to flee. With the first objective seized, he was being treated by the company aid man when he observed 1 of his outpost men seriously wounded by a mortar burst. He wrenched himself from the hands of the aid man and began to crawl forward to assist his comrade, whom he had almost reached when he was struck and fatally wounded by an enemy bullet. S/Sgt. Peterson, by his gallant, intrepid actions, unrelenting fighting spirit, and outstanding initiative, silenced 3 enemy machineguns against great odds and while suffering from severe wounds, enabling his company to advance with minimum casualties."
World War II Medal of Honor Recipient. He was issued the award posthumously on October 17, 1945 for his actions as a staff sergeant with Company K, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, US Army, on March 30, 1945, near Eisern, Germany, during the final days of World War II. He was also awarded the Purple Heart. His Medal of Honor citation reads: "He was an acting platoon sergeant with Company K, near Eisern, Germany. When his company encountered an enemy battalion and came under heavy small-arms, machinegun, and mortar fire, the 2d Platoon was given the mission of flanking the enemy positions while the remaining units attacked frontally. S/Sgt. Peterson crept and crawled to a position in the lead and motioned for the 2d Platoon to follow. A mortar shell fell close by and severely wounded him in the legs, but, although bleeding and suffering intense pain, he refused to withdraw and continued forward. Two hostile machineguns went into action at close range. Braving this grazing fire, he crawled steadily toward the guns and worked his way alone to a shallow draw, where, despite the hail of bullets, he raised himself to his knees and threw a grenade into the nearest machinegun nest, silencing the weapon and killing or wounding all its crew. The second gun was immediately turned on him, but he calmly and deliberately threw a second grenade which rocked the position and killed all 4 Germans who occupied it. As he continued forward he was spotted by an enemy rifleman, who shot him in the arm. Undeterred, he crawled some 20 yards until a third machinegun opened fire on him. By almost superhuman effort, weak from loss of blood and suffering great pain, he again raised himself to his knees and fired a grenade from his rifle, killing 3 of the enemy guncrew and causing the remaining one to flee. With the first objective seized, he was being treated by the company aid man when he observed 1 of his outpost men seriously wounded by a mortar burst. He wrenched himself from the hands of the aid man and began to crawl forward to assist his comrade, whom he had almost reached when he was struck and fatally wounded by an enemy bullet. S/Sgt. Peterson, by his gallant, intrepid actions, unrelenting fighting spirit, and outstanding initiative, silenced 3 enemy machineguns against great odds and while suffering from severe wounds, enabling his company to advance with minimum casualties."

Bio by: William Bjornstad


Inscription

SSGT, 18 INF, 1 INF DIV WORLD WAR II

Gravesite Details

From Brooklyn, New York.


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  • Maintained by: Find a Grave
  • Originally Created by: War Graves
  • Added: Aug 6, 2010
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56302676/george-peterson: accessed ), memorial page for SSGT George Peterson (28 May 1912–30 Mar 1945), Find a Grave Memorial ID 56302676, citing Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Eijsden-Margraten Municipality, Limburg, Netherlands; Maintained by Find a Grave.