World War II Honoree
Killed in World War II
Melvin A. Peterson
Branch of Service
U.S. Army
Hometown
Crookston, Minnesota
Honored By
Orville L. Kline
Rank: Private First Class. Inducted into the United States Army February 22, 1944 with induction at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Following recruit and advanced infantry training, he was deployed to the European Theater of Operations. Served as a Rifleman with the 60th Infantry Regiment, an element of the Ninth Infantry ‘Old Reliables’ Division, attached to the U.S. First Army. His division participated in the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest against the German Armed forces (Battle Dates: September 19-December 16, 1944). Sunday, December 10, 1944 he was mortally wounded, during a combat engagement. Personnel from a Grave Registration Company buried him in the Henri-Chapelle Battlefield Cemetery Ellpen, Belgium. In the post-war era, this Soldiers’ family requested that he be buried with Military Honors at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery Location: Henri-Chapelle, Belgium. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his Heroism and ultimate sacrifice.