Alan E. Petersen

Obituary

Alan E. Petersen was born on October 22, 1919, in Brownton, Minnesota. He was the son of Fred and Minnie (Ewald) Petersen. Alan received his education at Brownton Public Schools. In December of 1942, Alan was united in marriage to Vivian Newell.

Alan operated a mink ranch near Brownton before enlisting in the United States Army. He entered active military service on April 3, 1942, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was commissioned on December 6, 1942. First Lieutenant, Alan Petersen served as a United States Army Air Force bombardier on board a B-24 airplane and completed 47 bombing missions.  In the summer of 1943, Alan was assigned to the 345^th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9^th Air Force. On August 1, 1943, flying over Ploiesti, Romania in a B-24 Liberator plane, during Operation Tidal Wave, Alan, and his fellow airmen were shot down by enemy fire. This was considered the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries in Ploiesti, Romania. Alan and hundreds of other American airmen were considered missing in action for a number of years.

Alan’s body was first buried in the Hero Section of the Civilian and Military Cemetery in Bolovan, Ploesti, before the American Graves Registration Command removed all the remains from the cemetery for identification when the war ended. Alan’s remains were still unidentified and he remained in Belgium.

In 2017, the DPAA started exhuming WWII remains that were associated with Operation Tidal Wave. On July 9, 2021, Alan Petersen was identified by using dental, anthropological, mitochondrial DNA, and Y Chromosome DNA. Alan Petersen will be laid to rest in the Glencoe City Cemetery in Glencoe, Minnesota on October 30, 2021.

Alan is survived by his Nephews and nieces.

His death preceded his Parents, Fred and Minnie Petersen; Wife, Vivian Petersen; Brothers, Adrian Petersen, Roger Petersen, Russell Petersen; Sister, Barbara (Petersen) Lohse.