Oconto Falls fallen hero misfiled in National Archives

Eighty years ago, the U.S. military was fighting in Europe and the Pacific during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, more than 405,000 U.S. servicemen and women gave their lives in service for their country.

We can honor these heroes on Memorial Day but also on Aug. 14, the 76th anniversary of the announcement the war was ending.

From the National Archives’ WWII Honor List of U.S. Army and Army Air Force Personnel, 60 men from Oconto County and 75 men from Shawano County gave their lives in service during World War II. This does not include the Marines, Navy and Merchant Marines. Due to documentation errors and the movement of people, the list of gold star servicemen from these two counties is likely much higher than 135.

Staff Sgt. Marvin M. Peterson is listed on the WWII Honor List for Monroe County. However, it’s clear that he should have been on the Oconto County Honor Roll.

Peterson was born May 8, 1921, in Oconto Falls to Magnus and Hazel (George) Peterson. From the 1930 and 1940 U.S. Census records, the family lived in Oconto Falls.

His Oct. 15, 1940, WWII Enlistment record shows that Marvin M. Peterson registered in Oconto as a private in the infantry with the National Guard. His civilian occupation was listed under “shoemakers and shoe repairmen, not in factory.”

Peterson served with Company C of the 127th Infantry Regiment of the 32nd Division with the U.S. Army during World War II.

In a Green Bay Press-Gazette article from Jan. 17, 1949, titled “Plan Reburial for New Guinea Victim,” the article dispatched from Oconto Falls stated:

“Mrs. Hazel Peterson, Oconto Falls, has received word that the remains of her son, Staff Sgt. Marvin M. Peterson, are en route home for reburial. Sgt. Peterson was killed in action somewhere in New Guinea July 27, 1944. He had written his last letter home on July 17.

“The young man died a heroic death under fire and gave his life while trying to save a comrade. In January 1943 he was cited for bravery ‘beyond the call of duty’ when he with a few others swam the swift Konombi river in daylight, and fastened a rope to the short which enabled a platoon to establish a bridgehead. He developed a tropical fever soon after that and was hospitalized in Australia. Released from the hospital, he suffered a broken jaw while playing basketball and shortly after that had a relapse of fever, which hospitalized him again until June of that year.

“Sgt. Peterson was awarded the Distinguished Service cross, the Citation of Merit and the Purple Heart.

“He was born in Oconto Falls May 8, 1921, the son of the late Magnus Peterson and Mrs. Hazel George Peterson. His father was a veteran of World War I, and died in April 1944, just four months before his son was killed in action. Besides his mother, he is survived by three sisters, Mrs. Richard Driggs of Oconto Falls, Mrs. I. Bennet Jr., of Long Beach, California, and Mary Jean, at home; five brothers, Miles of Milwaukee, Gerald of California, with the U. S. Navy, Lester James, Billy, and Bobby, at home.

“Marvin graduated from the Oconto Falls High School in 1940, and enlisted in Company C of the Oconto National Guard in October. He received his basic training at Camp Grant, Ill., with an infantry unit of the 32nd division.”

Staff Sgt. Peterson was re-buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Oconto Falls.

For more information, visit www.storiesbehindthestars.org.