#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Bendix L. Peterson

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Bendix L. Peterson. Bendix served during World War I and World War II.

Bendix was born on November 22^nd, 1884 in Portland, Maine to Swedish and Danish immigrants. At the age of 18, he enlisted in the Army for the first time. He initially served in the National Guard at Fort Preble in Portland with an artillery company until his discharge in 1909. Bendix enlisted again in 1916 during World War I at the age of 31. He was assigned to Company D, 2^nd ME Infantry Regiment of the Maine National Guard as a First Sergeant.

In May of 1917 Bendix was selected to report to Plattsburg Barracks in New York for officer training. Upon completion of this training he was appointed as 2^nd Lieutenant on August 15^th, 1917. Bendix and his unit continued to drill and train until January of 1918 when they were activated and absorbed into the 302^nd Infantry Regiment, part of the 76^th Division of the American Expeditionary Force. He was promoted to 1^st Lieutenant on January 17^th and he and the rest of the 302^nd went overseas, first to England then to France. When Bendix arrived in France, he served in combat from July 1^st-November 11^th of 1918, including the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Bendix was then assigned to occupation duty from November 12^th-December 27^th of 1918. He was discharged from the Army for the second time on December 30^th of 1918.

Bendix enlisted again shortly thereafter and transferred Army Air Corp, rising to the rank of Major. He was separated from the service for the last time on November 29^th of 1944 at the age of 60. Bendix passed away on November 7^th of 1947 at the age of 62.

We honor his service.

Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Graphic By Alexandra Craig: Alexandra Craig is an undergraduate senior at the University of San Francisco studying International Peace and Conflict Studies.