Hamlet E. “Coach Pete” Peterson and World War I by Helen Peterson Hustad and Hamlet A. Peterson, M.D. arrived in Glasgow, Scotland, and traveled south by train to Southampton, England, arriving on July 22. They crossed the English Channel, arriving at Le Havre, France, July 23. A slow-moving train took them east for two days to Bricon, France. After another month of drilling, the 54th marched to the Vosgas Mountains, Alsace, France, and entered the fighting at Dommartin. The trench warfare that had been going on for four years—consisting of nearly constant artillery fire, patrols in no-mans-land, trenches taken, lost, and retaken—lasted another six weeks. The Meuse-Argonne offensive commenced October 27 in rain and much mud. On November 2, the 54th crossed the famous Hindenburg Line, taking territory occupied by German forces for the previous four years. On November 11, the 54th Infantry found itself at Chatel Chehery, near Verdun, when the Armistice was signed. During this brief, but intense time, Pete was promoted from Private, to Private 1st class, to Corporal, to Sargent,
Hamlet E. Peterson rapidly moved up the ranks from Private to Second Lieutenant during the war.
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amlet, the oldest boy of ten children and a fourth-generation “full-blooded” Norwegian American, was born in 1897 on a farm one mile north of Scarville, Winnebago County, Iowa. He attended Luther Academy in Albert Lea, MN. After one year at Luther College (1916-17) in Decorah, Iowa, he and his cousin, Melvin Larson, enlisted in the Army and were sent to Chickamauga Park, Georgia, arriving May 30, 1917. (The United States had entered WW I April 6, 1917). They became part of the First Army Infantry Corps, 6th Division, 54th Infantry, 2nd Battalion, Company D. By August the Regiment had grown to full-strength of 1500 men and 55 officers. Pete played on the base’s baseball team that summer. After a long and arduous training period, the 54th left Chickamauga by train on June 26, 1918, to Camp Mills, Long Island, New York. On July 6, the group left the Narrows, past the Statue of Liberty, in a convoy of 14 transports, escorted by a cruiser and six destroyers. After 11 days at sea, they 4
After excelling at many sports during his own college career, “Pete” stayed on at Luther College for 45 years as a teacher and coach, developing a multifaceted athletic program for the school that included both men and women. Vesterheim