Dead Eye Pete

This post is about my grandpa Elliot Raymond Petersen. I am so thankful for his example, and his stories. He served on the front lines in WWII. He lied about his age so he could go to war with his friends. He was 19 when he enlisted. They use to call him dead eye Pete because he was the best shot in his group. I remember him telling a story of him with his team walking through an opened space. One of his friends was ahead of him. Grandpa saw that his friend was about to step in a nest of a deadly snake. Just before he did, Grandpa shot killing the snake. From that point on he was known as Dead Eye Pete. Grandpa told many stories. He was overseas when Pearl Harbor was bombed. He was part of the 145th Field Artillery 40 infantry division in 1941. Grandpa talked about the war all the time, he would watch the old black and white war shows. One day he was watching Midway, he had a flashback. He began speaking Japanese, gibberish, and yelling. Tears were streaming down his face; it took him a while for him to come to. After that experience he didn't talk about the war. I can only imagine what he saw, and went through. Though it was hard I am so thankful for his sacrifice, and service. He chose to go fight to protect our freedoms. Thank you, Grandpa, for your service, stories and example. I love and miss you every day.