Gerard "Burton" Petersen was born 1 May 1917 at Perley, Norman County, MN to Nels G. and Bertha A. Olson Petersen. He attended grade school at Perley until 1928 when the family moved to Hillsboro, ND. He was confirmed in the Lutheran faith in Hillsboro in May of 1932. The family moved to Leonard in 1933 and Burton graduated from Leonard High School in 1935. He spent the last few years working in the Perley vicinity.
He was inducted into the service April 30, 1942 and was assigned to the Armored Division at Ft. Lewis, WA. After his basic training there, he went to Ft. Knox, KY, where he attended Gunnery School from which he graduated in October 1942. He spent ten months in the Mojavi Desert Training Camp in Arizona and went to England in November 1943 and into France on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Burton was an upright, hard-working, pleasant young man who made the supreme sacrifice for his country. As a soldier, he received a citation which was a commission on the battlefield which is a rare honor bestowed upon a soldier. He received this battlefield commission just a short time before his death, as a reward for unusual bravery and heroism displayed in combat.
Memorial services for Burton were held at the Bethania Lutheran Church, rural Perley, MN Sunday, September 17, 1944. There is a marker for Burton in the Bethania Cemetery indicating he is buried in France.
Surviving Burton were: his parents, Nels G. and Bertha A. Olson Petersen; three sisters, Gertrude, Norma and Bette; a brother, Pfc. Robert S. Petersen who was serving in the South Pacific. Burton was predeceased by a brother, Allen Stanley Petersen.
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The 743rd Tank Battalion had been delivered directly on Omaha Beach during D-Day where it provided support for the 29th Infantry Division's assault. There, the LCT flotilla commander and 743rd Tank Battalion command had decided the seas were too rough to launch the DD tanks and instead the LCT's would take them right in to the beach. This still meant they had to face the German beach defenses.
The first tank off LCT 591 was promptly brewed up by a German anti-tank gun while the landing craft was already reversing. All of which meant the three remaining tanks debarked unprepared into deep water and sank. However, in contrast to the disaster at sea that virtually wiped out the 741st Tank Battalion's B and C Company - the corresponding DD company's of the 743rd Tank Battalion would lose "only" nine tanks knocked out and one damaged during the day. Meanwhile, A Company of the 743rd Tank Battalion would lose eight tanks and six dozers as well.
By the end of D-Day the 743rd Tank Battalion could report 38 operational tanks (with one in repair). Nevertheless, the much larger numbers of tanks that made it to the beach from the 743rd Tank Battalion by all accounts proved critical in suppressing and destroying German positions. This helped the 29th Infantry Division's men to get off the beach at the D-1 Vierville draw. In addition, the 743rd Tank Battalion even took over for the missing 741st Tank Battalion's armor in helping to open the E-1 St Laurent draw off the beach.
The decision to launch the DD tanks in the rough seas proved costly for the 741st Tank BN. Though the tanks delivered directly to shore by LCT also suffered losses, as shown by the 743rd Tank Battalion's experience these were not nearly as high as the near total wipeout of the 741st Tank Battalion's B and C Companies at sea. This should not take away however from the bravery of both tank battalion's crews, who contributed in no small part to D-Day's ultimate success.
He was inducted into the service April 30, 1942 and was assigned to the Armored Division at Ft. Lewis, WA. After his basic training there, he went to Ft. Knox, KY, where he attended Gunnery School from which he graduated in October 1942. He spent ten months in the Mojavi Desert Training Camp in Arizona and went to England in November 1943 and into France on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Burton was an upright, hard-working, pleasant young man who made the supreme sacrifice for his country. As a soldier, he received a citation which was a commission on the battlefield which is a rare honor bestowed upon a soldier. He received this battlefield commission just a short time before his death, as a reward for unusual bravery and heroism displayed in combat.
Memorial services for Burton were held at the Bethania Lutheran Church, rural Perley, MN Sunday, September 17, 1944. There is a marker for Burton in the Bethania Cemetery indicating he is buried in France.
Surviving Burton were: his parents, Nels G. and Bertha A. Olson Petersen; three sisters, Gertrude, Norma and Bette; a brother, Pfc. Robert S. Petersen who was serving in the South Pacific. Burton was predeceased by a brother, Allen Stanley Petersen.
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The 743rd Tank Battalion had been delivered directly on Omaha Beach during D-Day where it provided support for the 29th Infantry Division's assault. There, the LCT flotilla commander and 743rd Tank Battalion command had decided the seas were too rough to launch the DD tanks and instead the LCT's would take them right in to the beach. This still meant they had to face the German beach defenses.
The first tank off LCT 591 was promptly brewed up by a German anti-tank gun while the landing craft was already reversing. All of which meant the three remaining tanks debarked unprepared into deep water and sank. However, in contrast to the disaster at sea that virtually wiped out the 741st Tank Battalion's B and C Company - the corresponding DD company's of the 743rd Tank Battalion would lose "only" nine tanks knocked out and one damaged during the day. Meanwhile, A Company of the 743rd Tank Battalion would lose eight tanks and six dozers as well.
By the end of D-Day the 743rd Tank Battalion could report 38 operational tanks (with one in repair). Nevertheless, the much larger numbers of tanks that made it to the beach from the 743rd Tank Battalion by all accounts proved critical in suppressing and destroying German positions. This helped the 29th Infantry Division's men to get off the beach at the D-1 Vierville draw. In addition, the 743rd Tank Battalion even took over for the missing 741st Tank Battalion's armor in helping to open the E-1 St Laurent draw off the beach.
The decision to launch the DD tanks in the rough seas proved costly for the 741st Tank BN. Though the tanks delivered directly to shore by LCT also suffered losses, as shown by the 743rd Tank Battalion's experience these were not nearly as high as the near total wipeout of the 741st Tank Battalion's B and C Companies at sea. This should not take away however from the bravery of both tank battalion's crews, who contributed in no small part to D-Day's ultimate success.
Gerard "Burton" Petersen was born 1 May 1917 at Perley, Norman County, MN to Nels G. and Bertha A. Olson Petersen. He attended grade school at Perley until 1928 when the family moved to Hillsboro, ND. He was confirmed in the Lutheran faith in Hillsboro in May of 1932. The family moved to Leonard in 1933 and Burton graduated from Leonard High School in 1935. He spent the last few years working in the Perley vicinity.
He was inducted into the service April 30, 1942 and was assigned to the Armored Division at Ft. Lewis, WA. After his basic training there, he went to Ft. Knox, KY, where he attended Gunnery School from which he graduated in October 1942. He spent ten months in the Mojavi Desert Training Camp in Arizona and went to England in November 1943 and into France on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Burton was an upright, hard-working, pleasant young man who made the supreme sacrifice for his country. As a soldier, he received a citation which was a commission on the battlefield which is a rare honor bestowed upon a soldier. He received this battlefield commission just a short time before his death, as a reward for unusual bravery and heroism displayed in combat.
Memorial services for Burton were held at the Bethania Lutheran Church, rural Perley, MN Sunday, September 17, 1944. There is a marker for Burton in the Bethania Cemetery indicating he is buried in France.
Surviving Burton were: his parents, Nels G. and Bertha A. Olson Petersen; three sisters, Gertrude, Norma and Bette; a brother, Pfc. Robert S. Petersen who was serving in the South Pacific. Burton was predeceased by a brother, Allen Stanley Petersen.
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The 743rd Tank Battalion had been delivered directly on Omaha Beach during D-Day where it provided support for the 29th Infantry Division's assault. There, the LCT flotilla commander and 743rd Tank Battalion command had decided the seas were too rough to launch the DD tanks and instead the LCT's would take them right in to the beach. This still meant they had to face the German beach defenses.
The first tank off LCT 591 was promptly brewed up by a German anti-tank gun while the landing craft was already reversing. All of which meant the three remaining tanks debarked unprepared into deep water and sank. However, in contrast to the disaster at sea that virtually wiped out the 741st Tank Battalion's B and C Company - the corresponding DD company's of the 743rd Tank Battalion would lose "only" nine tanks knocked out and one damaged during the day. Meanwhile, A Company of the 743rd Tank Battalion would lose eight tanks and six dozers as well.
By the end of D-Day the 743rd Tank Battalion could report 38 operational tanks (with one in repair). Nevertheless, the much larger numbers of tanks that made it to the beach from the 743rd Tank Battalion by all accounts proved critical in suppressing and destroying German positions. This helped the 29th Infantry Division's men to get off the beach at the D-1 Vierville draw. In addition, the 743rd Tank Battalion even took over for the missing 741st Tank Battalion's armor in helping to open the E-1 St Laurent draw off the beach.
The decision to launch the DD tanks in the rough seas proved costly for the 741st Tank BN. Though the tanks delivered directly to shore by LCT also suffered losses, as shown by the 743rd Tank Battalion's experience these were not nearly as high as the near total wipeout of the 741st Tank Battalion's B and C Companies at sea. This should not take away however from the bravery of both tank battalion's crews, who contributed in no small part to D-Day's ultimate success.
He was inducted into the service April 30, 1942 and was assigned to the Armored Division at Ft. Lewis, WA. After his basic training there, he went to Ft. Knox, KY, where he attended Gunnery School from which he graduated in October 1942. He spent ten months in the Mojavi Desert Training Camp in Arizona and went to England in November 1943 and into France on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Burton was an upright, hard-working, pleasant young man who made the supreme sacrifice for his country. As a soldier, he received a citation which was a commission on the battlefield which is a rare honor bestowed upon a soldier. He received this battlefield commission just a short time before his death, as a reward for unusual bravery and heroism displayed in combat.
Memorial services for Burton were held at the Bethania Lutheran Church, rural Perley, MN Sunday, September 17, 1944. There is a marker for Burton in the Bethania Cemetery indicating he is buried in France.
Surviving Burton were: his parents, Nels G. and Bertha A. Olson Petersen; three sisters, Gertrude, Norma and Bette; a brother, Pfc. Robert S. Petersen who was serving in the South Pacific. Burton was predeceased by a brother, Allen Stanley Petersen.
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The 743rd Tank Battalion had been delivered directly on Omaha Beach during D-Day where it provided support for the 29th Infantry Division's assault. There, the LCT flotilla commander and 743rd Tank Battalion command had decided the seas were too rough to launch the DD tanks and instead the LCT's would take them right in to the beach. This still meant they had to face the German beach defenses.
The first tank off LCT 591 was promptly brewed up by a German anti-tank gun while the landing craft was already reversing. All of which meant the three remaining tanks debarked unprepared into deep water and sank. However, in contrast to the disaster at sea that virtually wiped out the 741st Tank Battalion's B and C Company - the corresponding DD company's of the 743rd Tank Battalion would lose "only" nine tanks knocked out and one damaged during the day. Meanwhile, A Company of the 743rd Tank Battalion would lose eight tanks and six dozers as well.
By the end of D-Day the 743rd Tank Battalion could report 38 operational tanks (with one in repair). Nevertheless, the much larger numbers of tanks that made it to the beach from the 743rd Tank Battalion by all accounts proved critical in suppressing and destroying German positions. This helped the 29th Infantry Division's men to get off the beach at the D-1 Vierville draw. In addition, the 743rd Tank Battalion even took over for the missing 741st Tank Battalion's armor in helping to open the E-1 St Laurent draw off the beach.
The decision to launch the DD tanks in the rough seas proved costly for the 741st Tank BN. Though the tanks delivered directly to shore by LCT also suffered losses, as shown by the 743rd Tank Battalion's experience these were not nearly as high as the near total wipeout of the 741st Tank Battalion's B and C Companies at sea. This should not take away however from the bravery of both tank battalion's crews, who contributed in no small part to D-Day's ultimate success.
Inscription
SSGT 743 TANK BN MINNESOTA
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from Minnesota
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
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