thedrifter
06-26-07, 04:46 AM
Posted June 25, 2007
Little Chute man overcomes injury to serve as Marine
BY SHARON HANUSZCZAK
POST-CRESCENT EAST
LITTLE CHUTE — When Little Chute resident Jim Peterson returned from basic training with the Marines earlier this month, he received a hero’s welcome from family, friends and neighbors.
Red, white and blue ribbons adorned his parents’ yard on Meadow Lane and handmade signs saluted the private first class on his achievement. For those unfamiliar with Peterson’s story, the celebration may have appeared a bit premature, given that Peterson accomplished what millions of recruits have done before him.
But Peterson’s journey to earning the eagle, globe and anchor — the Marine Corps symbol — nearly ended during the recruit’s fourth week in boot camp in San Diego.
“We were just about to go up to Camp Pendleton for weapons and field training, and I woke up one morning with some slight knee pain,” said Peterson, 19, a 2006 graduate of Little Chute High School.
“I didn’t want to go to medical because I didn’t want to get dropped to MRP (Medical Rehabilitation Platoon), so I just went on it all week long, which just made it worse. When we got up to Camp Pendleton, were doing a small hike with our full packs on and I just couldn’t take it anymore. That’s when I went down and I couldn’t get back up.”
That’s when Peterson’s world came crashing down. The recruit was taken to a naval hospital at Camp Pendleton, where X-rays revealed that half of Peterson’s femur had cracked. Shortly before surgery, his doctor delivered the heart-breaking news.
“The surgeon said I wouldn’t be able to complete boot camp and that I wouldn’t be able to come back to the military, either,” he said. “I just had tears in my eyes and thought I wasn’t going to become a Marine.”
Peterson was recuperating from surgery at the recruit center in San Diego when another recruit recovering from an injury told him that he could refuse to return home and wait for his body to recover. After consulting with his senior drill sergeant and medical personnel, Peterson made the decision to stay.
“The hardest part was the clinical nurse told me I was the first one with this kind of injury to try to get back to boot camp,” he said. “Everyone else that had my kind of injury always got sent home.”
Telephoning his parents, Mary and Dave Peterson, to tell them the news also was difficult.
“My heart just fell down to my stomach because I was expecting him to come home,” said Mary Peterson. “But we understood why he was doing what he was doing.”
Her son’s persistence and level of commitment didn’t come as a shock.
“Jim was always the type of kid that when he set his mind to something, he stayed with it till he got it,” Mary Peterson said.
The recruit’s diligence and determination paid off. After five months of recovery, Peterson was running three miles a day and had no pain. His doctors cleared him to return to basic training.
The high point of Peterson’s journey came at the end of the “Crucible,” a three-day test involving more than 45 miles of marching that culminates with the climbing of the “Reaper,” so dubbed because recruits never know when they will reach its peak.
“They say if you can make it to the top of the Reaper, physically you’re pretty much good to go to becoming a Marine,” Peterson said. “I got to the top with no pain.
When I got to the top, that was the first time I got a really good look at the Pacific Ocean. I knew it was all worth it — staying there for five extra months.”
Peterson graduated on May 30 with Platoon 2115, Echo Company, Second Recruit Training Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment. His training, originally intended to take 13 weeks, took eight months to complete. For his parents, who flew to California with their other son, Rob, 23, for the ceremony, graduation day meant one thing — the day they could bring their youngest son home with them.
“For us, it was an emotional roller coaster,” said Mary Peterson, who works as an office manager for Fox Valley Metro. “You can’t call out there. You basically sit and you wait. You wait to hear from Jim. You wait for letters every day. It was emotional.
We couldn’t be more proud. We’re proud he joined the Marines, but also of all he endured over an eight-month period. In my eyes, our son was a Marine before graduation.”
“I’m proud of him,” added his father, Dave.
The family reunion in Little Chute was brief for the Petersons. The Marine had only a few days of free time before reporting to the school of infantry, individual training battalion, for eight weeks of advanced infantry training at Camp Pendleton. From there, Peterson will be assigned to a unit on the East Coast, West Coast or Japan.
Because of his area of expertise, Peterson knows there is a good chance he could be sent to Iraq.
“I signed up knowing full well what’s going to happen,” he said. “Obviously, when it comes down to it, my life is going to be on the line and I’ve accepted that. In the Bible, it says there’s no greater love for a man than to lay down his life for his friends.”
Peterson said he is touched by the encouraging words and support he has received from family, friends and the community, but understands that his journey as a Marine is just beginning.
“I made it through boot camp, but all the other Marines out there, they’ve done so much more than me,” he said. “I can’t lose sight of that. Basically, all I’ve done was get on the road. I’ve got a long way to go yet.”
Sharon Hanuszczak: 920-729, 6622, ext. 27, or shanuszc@postcrescent.com.
Ellie
Little Chute man overcomes injury to serve as Marine
BY SHARON HANUSZCZAK
POST-CRESCENT EAST
LITTLE CHUTE — When Little Chute resident Jim Peterson returned from basic training with the Marines earlier this month, he received a hero’s welcome from family, friends and neighbors.
Red, white and blue ribbons adorned his parents’ yard on Meadow Lane and handmade signs saluted the private first class on his achievement. For those unfamiliar with Peterson’s story, the celebration may have appeared a bit premature, given that Peterson accomplished what millions of recruits have done before him.
But Peterson’s journey to earning the eagle, globe and anchor — the Marine Corps symbol — nearly ended during the recruit’s fourth week in boot camp in San Diego.
“We were just about to go up to Camp Pendleton for weapons and field training, and I woke up one morning with some slight knee pain,” said Peterson, 19, a 2006 graduate of Little Chute High School.
“I didn’t want to go to medical because I didn’t want to get dropped to MRP (Medical Rehabilitation Platoon), so I just went on it all week long, which just made it worse. When we got up to Camp Pendleton, were doing a small hike with our full packs on and I just couldn’t take it anymore. That’s when I went down and I couldn’t get back up.”
That’s when Peterson’s world came crashing down. The recruit was taken to a naval hospital at Camp Pendleton, where X-rays revealed that half of Peterson’s femur had cracked. Shortly before surgery, his doctor delivered the heart-breaking news.
“The surgeon said I wouldn’t be able to complete boot camp and that I wouldn’t be able to come back to the military, either,” he said. “I just had tears in my eyes and thought I wasn’t going to become a Marine.”
Peterson was recuperating from surgery at the recruit center in San Diego when another recruit recovering from an injury told him that he could refuse to return home and wait for his body to recover. After consulting with his senior drill sergeant and medical personnel, Peterson made the decision to stay.
“The hardest part was the clinical nurse told me I was the first one with this kind of injury to try to get back to boot camp,” he said. “Everyone else that had my kind of injury always got sent home.”
Telephoning his parents, Mary and Dave Peterson, to tell them the news also was difficult.
“My heart just fell down to my stomach because I was expecting him to come home,” said Mary Peterson. “But we understood why he was doing what he was doing.”
Her son’s persistence and level of commitment didn’t come as a shock.
“Jim was always the type of kid that when he set his mind to something, he stayed with it till he got it,” Mary Peterson said.
The recruit’s diligence and determination paid off. After five months of recovery, Peterson was running three miles a day and had no pain. His doctors cleared him to return to basic training.
The high point of Peterson’s journey came at the end of the “Crucible,” a three-day test involving more than 45 miles of marching that culminates with the climbing of the “Reaper,” so dubbed because recruits never know when they will reach its peak.
“They say if you can make it to the top of the Reaper, physically you’re pretty much good to go to becoming a Marine,” Peterson said. “I got to the top with no pain.
When I got to the top, that was the first time I got a really good look at the Pacific Ocean. I knew it was all worth it — staying there for five extra months.”
Peterson graduated on May 30 with Platoon 2115, Echo Company, Second Recruit Training Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment. His training, originally intended to take 13 weeks, took eight months to complete. For his parents, who flew to California with their other son, Rob, 23, for the ceremony, graduation day meant one thing — the day they could bring their youngest son home with them.
“For us, it was an emotional roller coaster,” said Mary Peterson, who works as an office manager for Fox Valley Metro. “You can’t call out there. You basically sit and you wait. You wait to hear from Jim. You wait for letters every day. It was emotional.
We couldn’t be more proud. We’re proud he joined the Marines, but also of all he endured over an eight-month period. In my eyes, our son was a Marine before graduation.”
“I’m proud of him,” added his father, Dave.
The family reunion in Little Chute was brief for the Petersons. The Marine had only a few days of free time before reporting to the school of infantry, individual training battalion, for eight weeks of advanced infantry training at Camp Pendleton. From there, Peterson will be assigned to a unit on the East Coast, West Coast or Japan.
Because of his area of expertise, Peterson knows there is a good chance he could be sent to Iraq.
“I signed up knowing full well what’s going to happen,” he said. “Obviously, when it comes down to it, my life is going to be on the line and I’ve accepted that. In the Bible, it says there’s no greater love for a man than to lay down his life for his friends.”
Peterson said he is touched by the encouraging words and support he has received from family, friends and the community, but understands that his journey as a Marine is just beginning.
“I made it through boot camp, but all the other Marines out there, they’ve done so much more than me,” he said. “I can’t lose sight of that. Basically, all I’ve done was get on the road. I’ve got a long way to go yet.”
Sharon Hanuszczak: 920-729, 6622, ext. 27, or shanuszc@postcrescent.com.
Ellie