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***VIDEO INCLUDED*** Rep. Lee Interviews Decorated U.S. Army Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient Daniel Peterson Ahead of Purple Heart Day

August 7, 2020

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Las Vegas, Nev. – On Aug. 5th, U.S. Rep. Susie Lee (Nev.-03) interviewed decorated U.S. Army Aviator Veteran and Purple Heart Recipient Daniel Peterson as part of the Library of Congress's Veterans History Project, ahead of National Purple Heart Day today, August 7th. The Facebook Live interview can be viewed on Rep. Lee's Facebook page.

The following are excerpts of the interview, where Mr. Peterson recounted one of his many harrowing stories during his service in the Vietnam War, along with his life after military service:

Rep. Lee - "What made you make the decision to join the military?

Mr. Peterson - "Most of my guys that I grew up with had already been in Vietnam. I was sort of the last one of the group of us, so I figured it was my time to go ahead and serve. […] I figured I was going to be an infantryman and, for whatever reason, I was selected to go to Army flight school."

[…]

"I went from flight school to Vietnam. Been shot down on multiple occasions, and I just sent a picture of my one bad day in Vietnam, August 11, 1970, […] of my helicopter burning in the middle of a rice paddy, where myself and my co-pilot had been wounded, but we had to continue to fly to make a reconnaissance, and then we got hit with RPGs, caught on fire, and crashed. So then I was medevac'd out."

Rep. Lee and Mr. Peterson continued:

Rep. Lee - "What are some of the life lessons that you learned from the military?

Mr. Peterson - "Work ethic; friendship; comradery, which is very prevalent; willingness to help each other out through good times and bad times. I think those are all important things."

BACKGROUND: To read an autobiographical account of Daniel Peterson's time in the military, click here. Today, Mr. Peterson is the Commander of Purple Heart Chapter 730 in southern Nevada.

The Veterans History Project was created in 2000 to preserve and make accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.