Douglas LeRoy Peterson Sr

Military
media-38838.jpeg UPL 38838 Radioman Gunner Douglas L. Peterson of Pop's Wagon, 1944. B-26.

Private Collection Douglas L. Peterson

Object Number - UPL 38838 - Radioman Gunner Douglas L. Peterson of Pop's Wagon, 1944. B-26.

Douglas Peterson was my Dad. He was born in NY on 2/2/22 and they were twin boys. Dad enlisted in the Navy first, couldn't make weight, so went and signed up with the Army. The day he was on the train and saw the Army Air Corps Officer come down the aisle, he said the whole car cheered that they would be in the Air Corps. They trained at MacDill AFB Tampa FL and stationed in England. He loved the people of England and recounted how he met two special women named Alice and Lillian. When he returned stateside and met my Mom, Lillian, whose Mom was Alice, he knew it was meant to be. They were married 55 years until my Mom's death in 2002. He died heartbroken, six months later. He was always proud of his service to our nations, but spoke selectively of his time in combat. He flew in the B-26, which had the unfortunate tagline, "One a day in Tampa Bay" because they crashed so often. He lost a brother in one in Tallahassee, FL. His favorite story about his time in England, was the sight of the White Cliffs of Dover, which he said once they could see those after a mission, they 'knew they were home.'

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Private collection and memories of Douglas Peterson.

Douglas LeRoy Peterson: Gallery (2 items)