Memorial Day service features Darwin Peterson
The Montgomery County Memorial Court of Honor has announced the keynote speaker for Memorial Day services on May 28.
The Memorial Day ceremony begins at 10:45 a.m. at the southwest corner of Evergreen Cemetery. This year’s speaker is Lt. Col. Darwin D. Peterson, who was raised on a farm near Viking Lake. Peterson graduated from Villisca High School in 1968 and after graduating from college, entered active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps in September, 1972.
Peterson was commissioned as a second lieutenant in December, 1973, and served as an infantry officer in all four Marine divisions as a platoon leader and company commander, before resigning his Marine commission as a captain in 1983 to accept a commission in the U.S. Army as a medical student. Peterson said there is a rich history of military tradition in his family.
“My father, Carol, flew a B-26 in World War II serving as a bombadier and navigator, and in that capacity he flew 78 combat missions over Italy in southern France between December, 1943 and December 1944. His younger brother Harlan was also a flier, he flew a B-25. He lost his live in the Pacific, and is memorialized in the Heritage Museum in Stanton. He was awarded a silver start posthumously, and that silver star is on display in the museum. My mother’s brother Marvin was also in the air corps, and was shot down and spent a week on a raft in the Pacific before he was rescued,” Peterson said.
In addition, Peterson said that military tradition has continued with his children.
“My younger son Nathan served in the Marine Corps for eight years as a sniper, and served a tour in Afghanistan and Iraq, and retired from the Marine Corps as a staff sergeant, and is currently a law student. My older son Matt is an infantry officer and spoke at Veteran’s Day last fall. He has served three combat tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. My daughter Emily also served in the Army National Guard. I have two other daughters who are married to veterans. Laura is married to a former soldier and Meghan is married to an active-duty Navy Seal,” said Peterson.
After medical school and an internship, Peterson served as a general medical officer and brigade surgeon in Germany, before later being deployed to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm as a commander of the 17th Medical Detachment. He later trained as a general surgeon at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Tx. He retired from the Army in 2000 as Chief, Forward Surgical Team, 101st Division, Airborne.
Peterson then worked as a general surgeon at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City before moving to Red Oak in 2015. Peterson now works along with his wife, Teresa, at Montgomery County Memorial Hospital.
Peterson shared what he will focus on as a theme for his upcoming keynote speech on Memorial Day.
“I’ll be giving a brief history on Memorial Day, and talking about where its origins lie,” commented Peterson.
Peterson is looking forward to the experience of serving as Memorial Day speaker in Red Oak, and said he spoke in another Montgomery County community recently.
“I spoke in Stanton probably four years ago. I’m looking forward to this opportunity, and to see the reaction of the attendees to what I have to say. It’s sort of a murky history, and I think I can make it clearer.”
Peterson’s personal decorations include the Navy Achievement Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and the Bronze Star.