Forty years later, Fairfield veteran's name added to Veterans Memorial

By NICOLE HESTER-WILLIAMS

Golden Trianagle News Service

FAIRFIELD ? ?Doug always cared about others, and it is wonderful that others are now caring about him,? were the words from the family of deceased Vietnam veteran Douglas Eugene Peterson.

After 40 years, Peterson?s name will finally be added to the Iowa Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Des Moines at 11 a.m. on May 7 during the 2015 Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day Remembrance Ceremony.

Col. Robert King, executive director of the Iowa Department of Veteran?s Affairs, said he?s not sure why Peterson?s name was absent from the memorial wall in Des Moines, but that there might not have been procedures in place during that time to track war casualties, such as Peterson?s.

?Most casualties were killed in action and returned to the United States for burial. Doug was in extremely bad shape and he came home for extended medical care,? King said. ?It wasn?t that he was necessarily forgotten, it was just the system keeping track of him wasn?t aware. He made the determination that he wanted to die in his home state. There wasn?t a mechanism at the time to track that type of casualty.?

Peterson, who was born in Fairfield in 1949, served as a paratrooper in the United States Army?s 82nd Airborne Division.

He was severely wounded in Vietnam on Oct. 1, 1969 ? suffering injuries to his lungs, spleen and spine ? and died as a result of his injuries on March 9, 1975.

Peterson was awarded the Purple Heart and the Army Commendation Medal with ?V? device (a miniature bronze or gold quarter inch letter V attached to the medal?s ribbons) for his heroism in ground combat.

King said the possibility of Peterson?s missing name was recently brought to the attention of the Iowa Veteran?s Affairs Department.

?Somebody had made a comment one day that they thought there was a name that was missing,? King said, adding that thanks to the help of the people he called ?dedicated veterans,? Peterson?s name would be added during this year?s recognition day.

?Dan Gannon and David Thornburg, who are both veterans, went down and looked at the list,? King said. ?Dan came home and kept looking at it to confirm beyond a doubt that yes, we had a name, so they set forth to take the actions necessary to get that accomplished. They did a lot of work before they brought it to me.?

According to a Ledger article published in 1994, Peterson?s name was added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 1994 ? 25 years after the 20-year-old paratrooper was wounded during heavy combat northwest of Saigon.

For 19 years, Peterson?s family sought to prove that he died as a result of the injuries he sustained during combat in Vietnam, so that his name would join the 924  Iowans and the 57,934 total names engraved on the wall in the nation?s capital.

Thankful that his name will finally be added to the memorial wall in Des Moines, the Peterson family said they want to honor all Vietnam veterans who served in a battle that was hard on many families.

?Our county lost over 58,000 brave soldiers, and over 300,000 came home to their respective homes with injuries. They did not come back as heroes, and many times they had to endure horrible insults,? read a statement from Peterson?s family. ?Doug?s family wants to join the state of Iowa in recognizing all Iowans that participated in the military, and thank them for their service. Doug was a young man that enlisted knowing that he would probably be going to Vietnam, and that was his choice. He was attending Fairfield High School at the time. He was scared, but proud to be wearing his country?s military uniform. It has been 40 years since his passing, and finally he has been placed on the Iowa Vietnam Memorial with his fellow comrades.?