C.H. “Burt” Peterson

Editor’s note: World War II officially ended Sept. 2, 1945, when the Japanese signed surrender terms. We’re honoring the war’s area veterans over the next several months with these brief profiles.

Date of birth: Oct. 25, 1915

Dates of service: Oct. 18, 1941 to Aug. 15, 1945

Hometown: Clovis

Lives in: Clovis

Theater and location of service: Europe

Branch: Army

Rank: Technician 5th grade

Unit and specialty: 254th Combat Engineers

In his words: Burt Peterson was part of the offensive on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, on D-Day.

“I lost the best friend I ever had on that beach. He got killed with a mine,” Peterson said.

He said his friend died just a couple of hundred yards from him.

“There were a lot of mines. You tried to miss (them), but you didn’t know where they (were). There were so many of us — you had to keep moving with the rest of the men.

“I wasn’t thinking about anything except getting off of the beach” Peterson said.

There were so many American soldiers on the beach, Peterson described it as “hectic” with men pushing from behind, trying to make their way off the landing boats and move forward.

“You (didn’t) have time to be scared. It was just too many people” he said.

World War II profiles are compiled by CNJ staff writer Sharna Johnson. Contact her at 763-6991 or by e-mail:

[email protected]