Victor C. Petersen

Victor Carl Petersen was born in Calgary, Calgary Census Division, Alberta, Canada on January 27, 1922, to Willard M and Karen Anna Marie Billie Schmidt Peterson and later became a resident of Kenmare, Ward County, North Dakota. He entered the United States Marine Corp in San Diego, California on May 28, 1942, and served in the Asiatic Pacific Theater. Corporal Petersen was killed in action on April 12, 1945, at Ryukyu Island, Nanseidai, Katano-shi, Osaka, Japan and is buried in the Court of the Missing, Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii.

During the bombardment and assault of Ryukyu Islands, he was killed, when the USS Tennessee, was struck by a Japanese Suicide Plane.

On 12 April, the Japanese launched a major strike on the fleet. Tennessee came under attack by five aircrafts diving from high altitude; all were shot down before they could hit the ship, but they diverted attention skyward, which allowed an Aichi D3A "Val" dive-bomber to approach at lower altitude, heading straight for Tennessee's bridge. The ship's light anti-aircraft battery opened up on the D3A and damaged it, but not enough to prevent it from crashing into her signal bridge at about 14:50. The impact destroyed a 40 mm mount, fire directors for the 20 mm guns, and hurled burning avgas over the area. The plane carried a 250-pound (110 kg) bomb that penetrated the deck and exploded. The kamikaze killed 22 and wounded another 107 according to the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, or killed 25 and wounded 104, according to William Cracknell.

Sources: Ancestry/Find a Grave