Orville N. Peterson
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
Orville N. Peterson was inducted into the Army in September 1941.
He was a Corporal and a drill instructor before attending Officer Candidate School and being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. He had been promoted to Captain by the end of the war. He was commanding officer of the 15th Quartermaster Truck Company (Heavy). His unit embarked in a five-ship convoy to the Pacific in July 1942.
He says: "The second day out of San Francisco, the convoy was attacked by Japanese submarine which was repulsed by destroyer escorts, including USS Shaw, a survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack. On our ship were 158 fighter pilots who eventually were sent to Guadalcanal. "I and a few others disembarked at Honolulu, where I was assigned as a motor officer of the 15th Quartermaster Truck Company. It was later increased to a truck battalion and was relocated to Fort Shafter on Oahu. We serviced task forces with 608 men and 200 trucks. At the time the atom bomb was dropped, our battalion was attached to 10th Army for the coming invasion of Japan."
He received the: Good Conduct Medal (as an enlisted man), American Defense Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Service Medal, American Campaign Service Medal World War II Victory Medal.
He was discharged on Jan. 22, 1946.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The St. Louis County World War II Project. 249.
