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| PFC Peter Anderson served in the 158th Regimental Combat Team in the Philippines. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30940603/peter-richard-anderson https://www.ww2online.org/image/members-1st-battalion158th-regimental-combat-team-rests-wounded-near-damortis-philippines-1945 |
He was born on September 2, 1920 in Grantsville, Utah. His parents Gustave and Claudia (Brim) were also both born in Utah. His father worked as a farmer and a sheep herder. He died in 1936. Peter had one older brother (Adolph) and five older sisters (Geneva Ecton, Emma Tripp, Florence Watson, Josephine Howell, Bernice Carson). By 1940 Peter was still living at home. He had completed two years of high school and was working odd jobs. He married Nancy Widger in 1941. They had two children.
He was drafted into the army on June 14, 1944. He reached the rank of private first class and was assigned to the 158th Infantry Regiment. This unit was nicknamed the Bushmasters. When the war started it was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone. It was an independent regiment that did not become part of an infantry division as was normally the case. The 158th IR was sent to Australia in January 1943. It was redesignated the 158th Regimental Combat Team.
PFC Anderson shipped out in December 1944 and became part of the 158th RCT as a replacement in March 1945. The unit had been part of the invasion of Lingayen Gulf in January 1945 to begin the task of retaking Luzon.
On April 1 the 158th RCT landed on the Bicol Peninsula with the task of taking Legazpi. PFC Anderson was killed on April 12, 1945. He may have been one of the last Bushmasters killed in the war.
His grave is at Grantsville City Cemetery in Grantsville, Utah. His widow remarried and died in 1990. His son Gary died in 2005. His other child may still be living.
This is THE final story to be written as part of this project which honors at least one of the US fallen for every day of the war from December 7, 1941 to September 2, 1945. More than 1,400 men and women were profiled. The project will live on in an expanded program to write the stories of all 400,000+ US World War II fallen. Visit www.storiesbehindthestars.org to learn more. We welcome your continued support and interest and encourage you to help write some of these stories.
Last year on this date I profiled Robert Lemmon, 7th Armored Division. You can read about Robert here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
Last year on this date I profiled Robert Lemmon, 7th Armored Division. You can read about Robert here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by
The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation
“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”
References:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30940603/peter-richard-anderson
Luzon 1945: The Final Liberation of the Philippines by Clayton K. S. Chun
The Transcript Bulletin, 29 Oct 1948
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/158th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)
https://www.manilatimes.net/2017/04/01/news/regions/legazpi-commemorates-liberation-japanese/320459/
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