Carl Jerrold Peterson was a United States Navy Lieutenant Commander and the commanding officer of Patrol River Boat Squadron 57.
Background
Carl Jerrold Peterson was born 31 October 1936 to Captain Carl A. Peterson, United States Navy, Retired. (1908 – 1996) of Tuxedo Park, New York and Miriam C. Redden-Peterson (1909 – 2010), daughter of Connecticut State senator William A. Redden.
Education
He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy and was commissioned an Ensign in June 1958.
Career
He was killed in action in Vietnam and buried in Arlington National Cemetery. In 1975, the United States Navy honored his memory and service by naming United States Ship Peterson (Doctor of Divinity-969), a $120 million ($528 million today) destroyer, in his memory. According to his Academy Yearbook and the Bridgeport Post, he was from Bridgeport, Connecticut and lived at 388 Midland for much of his youth.
Lieutenant Commander Peterson then served successive tours at sea in United States Ship McCaffery (Doctor of Divinity-860) and United States Ship Arneb (AKA-56).
In 1962, he was assigned to the office of the Chief of Naval Operations, and in 1964 to the staff of Commander Middle East Force. From 1966 to 1968 Lieutenant Commander Peterson served with distinction as Operations Officer aboard United States Ship Ogden (Law and Policy Division-5) and participated in eight major amphibious assaults against enemy forces in Vietnam.
Lieutenant Commander Peterson was credited with developing the command and control techniques for debarking troops simultaneously by air and sea amphibious transports successfully employed in these assaults. In December 1968, Lieutenant Commander Peterson volunteered for duties in Vietnam and subsequently commanded Patrol River Boat Squadron 57 operating in the waterways of the Mekong Delta.
On 2 April 1969, while embarked in an assault support patrol boat transiting the Vàm Cỏ Đông River to his command center in United States Ship Harnett County (LST-821), Lieutenant Commander Peterson was mortally wounded when an enemy rocket detonated against his vessel.
Membership
He was said to "play a mean attack on the lacrosse field" and he was a valuable member of the crew of the USNA"s yacht, Freedom.