Carroll A. Peterson enlisted in the Army Air Force in early March, 1942, was sent to flight school and was commissioned in October that same year. He was assigned to the 379th Fighter Squadron, 362nd Fighter Group and sent overseas in November, 1943. On January 22, 1945, he departed airfield A-82 in France on a fighter-bomber mission to Prum, Germany. The mission encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire over Luxembourg and his P-47 Thunderbolt was hit causing the plane to catch fire, enter a spin and impact the ground near Hosingen, Luxembourg.