FORKS — Oscar “Pete” Peterson of Forks considers himself “one of the lucky ones.”
The 93-year-old Army veteran from Forks was a medic who landed on Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy in June 1944.
Peterson saw 209 consecutive days of enemy combat while serving with the 3rd Battalion of the 38th Infantry, 2nd Division.
He returned to Omaha Beach with family last June to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day with other World War II survivors.
“It made me think of the other fellows in my outfit and how lucky I was to come home,” Peterson said in a Friday interview.
Peterson will be the guest of honor at two Peninsula College programs this week.
His daughter, Glynda Schaad, will present “Normandy Revisited,” an account of Peterson’s return to France, at 7 p.m. Monday at the college’s Forks Extension site 481 S. Forks Ave.
A similar program will begin at 12:35 p.m. Wednesday at the college’s main campus in Port Angeles, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
After the Studium Generale program in the Little Theater on Wednesday, Peterson will receive the prestigious French Légion d’honneur medal from French Consul Honoraire M. Jack Cowan from the consulate in San Francisco.
The Legion of Honor medal is France’s highest distinction and was created to honor extraordinary contributions to the country.
A French committee approved the medal for Peterson’s role in several key battles on French soil.
Both programs are free to the public.
Schaad, who accompanied her father to France, will share the “humbling” experience of Peterson’s return to France and the outpouring of gratitude he received there.
She also will detail his role in the Normandy invasion, Hill 192, the Battle for Brest and the Battle of the Bulge.
“I could easily get choked up,” she said.
A reception in Peterson’s honor will be held immediately after the conclusion of the medal ceremony Wednesday in the foyer adjacent to the Little Theater.
At the D-Day anniversary June 6, Peterson was greeted by top military brass.
While waiting for the program to begin, Peterson saw four stars out of the corner of his eye, stood up and shook hands with U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, commander of the U.S. European Command and NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe.
“I was impressed to meet a four-star general,” Peterson said.
Peterson is the son of the legendary Minnie Peterson, who ran horse packing trips into the high Olympics from the family homestead on the West End.
He was attending veterinary school at Washington State University when he was drafted into the Army.
Peterson joined the service with fellow Forks native Arthur Wittenborn, who was killed during the war.
“I’m really fortunate after seeing what happened to him that I came back,” Peterson said.
“I was one of the lucky ones.”
During his first four hours on Omaha Beach, Peterson, who was trained as a medic, helped treat 125 wounded comrades.
He grew accustomed to digging fox holes and trenches to avoid bullets and shrapnel.
He was nearly killed while serving at an aid station at Elsenborn Ridge, Belgium, shortly after the Battle of the Bulge.
“I was in the next room when the shell hit,” he said.
Peterson returned to Forks after the war.
He married his wife, Wilma, in 1946 and bought the family farm with money he had saved in the Army.
“He never drank, smoked or gambled,” Schaad said.
Peterson also worked at the sawmill for 40 years and logged when he was raising cattle.
He instilled the value of education in his daughter and two sons.
All three of his children — and all nine of his grandchildren — have at least a bachelor’s degree, said Schaad, a member of the Peninsula College English faculty.
Peterson was also a no-nonsense father who would not tolerate complaining.
“If you want sympathy,” he would tell his children, “you can find it in Webster’s,” Schaad recalled.
Schaad said her father got his tough demeanor from his pioneering parents.
“He figured his drill sergeants were nice guys,” she said.
After the D-Day anniversary, the Paris bureau of The Associated Press quoted Peterson as saying: “I was lucky I survived.”
During the war, he would tell himself: “If I could survive this, I’ll work the rest of my life for nothing to be alive.”
On June 7, Peterson was given a personal tour led by a curator of the American Cemetery at Omaha that traced his steps immediately after the beach landing.
“We were most of the time speechless as we witnessed probably hundreds of people who were getting pictures with him and wanted to get his autograph and wanted to just talk with him,” Schaad said.
“It was mind-boggling.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
