Trygve S. Petersen, 95, of Granville, was among American soldiers from the 99th battalion who worked with the Norwegian military in their fight against the Germans. Because he was wounded, he was never able to receive the medal while in service, but Norwegian officials made sure Petersen received the recognition he deserved.
SOUTHWICK — It was an honor he should have received 69 years ago, but Trygve S. Petersen of Granville was finally pinned Thursday with the Norwegian defense medal for fighting against the German occupation of Norway in 1945.
Petersen, 95, was among American soldiers from the 99th battalion who worked with the Norwegian military in their fight against the Germans. Because he was wounded, he wasn't able to receive the medal while in service, but Norwegian officials made sure Petersen received the recognition he deserved.
As Capt. Yngve Skoglund, from the Norway liaison NATO office in Virginia, pinned the medal on to Petersen’s original military uniform, an emotional Petersen said, “I wish the men of my battalion were here.”
“They are in your soul,” Skoglund responded.
Humbled by the honor, Petersen told the crowd gathered at the Southwick American Legion Post 338 that his memories of World War II and his involvement in the mission in Norway are tempered by the loss of men in his unit.
03.06.2014 | SOUTHWICK -- Trygave S. Petersen, of Granville, a 95-year-old, World War II veteran from the 99th Batallion in Norway, salutes the military after receiving the Norwegian defense medal during a ceremony held Thursday at the American Legion Post 338 in Southwick. Petersen is wearing his original uniform from 1945. “I find it so hard to accept something for me when there are so many men who earned it more,” he said.
Petersen’s son, Karl A. Petersen, also of Granville, said as the years have gone by, his father’s memories of his service in the military have become more vivid, and most of those recollections involve the service men who lost their lives.
“He always felt that the real heroes were the men who didn’t come home,” he said, adding that for him, his father taught him the true meaning of hero.
“I’ve always been proud of him,” the younger Petersen said. “When I was a kid I thought John Wayne was a hero. Now I know my dad was the real hero.”
As the pinning ceremony of the Viking medallion ended, veterans and well-wishers lined up to shake Petersen’s hand and thank him for his service. From youngsters to senior citizens and veterans from multiple conflicts, Petersen was given a hero’s welcome seven decades after he returned from war.
Robert G. Kough, commander of Post 338, said the recognition bestowed on Petersen, a member of the Southwick American Legion, was a true honor to the local post.
“It’s our honor to have this man here,” he said.
Of Petersen’s clear memories of his World War II service, Kough said it is a common military experience to “remember people who had your back.”
“There are things you don’t forget,” he said.