Five Sons Serve, Proud Of All
By Nick Lamberto

Mrs. Helen Peters and her husband, Clem, 45, have sons in the armed forces and they're "proud of every one of them."

Helen Peters

see also: Clem's obituary and Helen's obituary

Two sons—Sgt. Robert, 25, and Lance Cpl. Donald, 20, both Marines—served 13-month tours it Viet Nam. Another son, Pfc. Thomas, 19, is now serving in Viet Nam.

L-R: Sgt Robert Peters, Lance Cpl Donald Peters & Pfc Thomas Peters

see also: Thomas' obituary

Pvt. Richard Peters, 24, joined the Marines in March and will be at a base in Del Mar, Calif., for mechanics school after home leave. The Peters' eldest son, S-Sgt. Kenneth, 26, served two years in the Marines, then joined the Air Force in 1962. He saw service in Alaska and is now an instructor in electronics at Lackland Air Force Base, Tex.

Pvt. Richard Peters (left) and S-Sgt. Kenneth Peters (right)

see also: Richard's obituary

Two other children—Vince, 14, and Helene, 13—are at home.

Peters and his wife operate a service station called "Peters and Sons" but the "sons are all in service except one," Mrs. Peters said, "so I pump gas and help run things."

Recently the Peters family received a "home-made post card written from the battlefield by son Thomas. It was written on the inside part of a portion of a cardboard combat ration pack. It arrived O.K.

Front of postcard
	Dear Mom, Dad, & all Haven't got any letter writing gear we're still in the field. I'm just fine don't worry about me. How do you like the postcards? HA Have to close now, Love & prayers Tom

"The boys have always written regularly," said Mrs. Peters. "If I don't hear at least once a week I start worrying. Once we went three weeks without hearing from Thomas.

"Guess he knows how important it is for us to hear from him. That's why he wrote on that piece of cardboard."

Last Sunday Thomas telephoned collect from Formosa "and we sure were glad to hear his voice," Mrs. Peters said. "If he's in Formosa he's not in the combat area."

"I was somewhat confused about everything in Viet Nam—it seemed like a mixed up affair," Mrs. Peters said. "Then when the boys came home and explained everything, I understood it more.

"One of them—Robert—put it best. He said we're fighting the Communists in Viet Nam because he doesn't want his children to be fighting them on their doorstep."

The boys were "awful mad when they heard about demonstrations back here."

"They all think we're doing a good job in Viet Nam," she said.

~Des Moines Register, Des Moines, IA, 20 Jun. 1966
~contributed by Errin Wilker

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