Albion Township resident honored a century after his
death in World War I
BY NANCY DASHWOOD
Staff Writer
More than a century ago, August
and Beda Peterson, both Swedish
immigrants, farmed and raised their
family in Albion Township in Wright
County. The Petersons had 12 chil-
dren. A son, named Lawrence (some-
times spelled Laurence) was their
third-born, arriving in late August
1892.
The Peterson children attended
Knapp School District 102.
August died in 1914, leaving Law-
rence, 21, with a family farm to run.
Lawrence’s mother later wrote that
Lawrence was “ambitious to work on
the farm.” Beda also wrote, her son
“took part in anything that tended to
better the community, and was an ac-
tive church member.”
Life changed quickly
Feb, 24, 1918, at the age of 25,
Lawrence was inducted into military
service in Buffalo, as a private dur-
ing World War I. He trained at Camp
Dodge from Feb. 26 to April 5.
Lawrence served his country at
posts in France and Belgium, begin-
ning that May.
He was fi rst sent into action July 4.
September found Lawrence and his
colleagues facing the battlefront at
the Hindenburg Line, a German de-
fensive position between France and
Belgium.
The ultimate sacrifi ce
World War I hero Lawrence Peterson.
PHOTO COURTESY OF HIS FAMILY
2
Senior
Lieutenant Colonel Joel Anderson read a speech in his great uncle
Lawrence Peterson’s honor at a memorial for the World War I hero.
One of Lawrence’s great- nephews,
Lieutenant Colonel Joel Anderson,
recently shared the rest of Lawrence’s
story.
“When the Germans discovered the presence
of the Americans, they were desperate and fi red
millions of artillery shells to stop them,” Olson
stated. “As that man from Knapp, Lawrence Pe-
terson, took up the duty of staying up in the trench
to watch no-man’s land for a German counterat-
tack, so his fellow soldiers could take better cover,
one of the shells killed him. He died a genuine
hero on the toughest battlefi eld in France.”
A brief announcement was printed in the Nov. 7,
1918 issue of the Cokato newspaper.
It read, “Lawrence Peterson, son of Mr. Peter-
son, who has charge of the Knapp telephone cen-
tral and brother of R.L. Peterson, proprietor of the
Knapp store, was killed in action the latter part of
September, according to advice received by rela-
Connections December 2018
SUBMITTED PHOTO
tives. Cokato now has two gold stars in the service
fl ag. The entire community grieves the bereaved
mother.”
Lawrence’s mother completed the State of Min-
nesota’s information form, providing information
to the military for its Gold Star Roll. As time
passed, those who remembered Lawrence Peter-
son dwindled.
Moving generations ahead
It has now been a full-century since the end of
WWI.
To mark the occasion, LTC Joel Olson, accom-
panied by his mother and sister, visited France.
“We were on a 100-year WWI anniversary tour
and visited battlefi elds, monuments, museums, and
cemeteries,” Olson recently stated. “At the ceme-
teries, we participated in very moving ceremonies.
Senior Connections HJ.COM