By William Smith
Lyle Peterson didn’t want to go to war in Vietnam.
The West Burlington native was living a peaceful life. He had a steady job at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, where he ironically helped produce some of the ammunition used in the Vietnam War.
“I really didn’t want to be in the service,” he said.
But when Uncle Sam came calling — about a year after Peterson graduated high school — he didn’t complain. He did his duty and went to war.
About four or five months after arriving in Vietnam, Peterson was on his way back out.
A piece of shrapnel vertically tore through his body, from shoulder to stomach. He came back home with the body of a man in his company — although he never knew his name.
Thanks to Great River Honor Flights -- one of several non-profit organizations dedicated to taking military veterans to Washington D.C. — Peterson will see that man’s name on the memorial wall when he visits.
But he won’t recognize it.
“If I knew his name, I would look it up on the wall,” he said.
Over 24 hours, Peterson, his friend Joe, and several other veterans will visit memorials to the respective wars they fought in Washington, DC, at no cost to the veterans.
He’s just happy he isn’t one of the names on the wall. If the shrapnel that hit him was just a few inches over, he would be. Peterson believes a piece of shrapnel may have glanced off his head, but he doesn’t know for sure. He has no memory of the incident.
“I’m one of the lucky ones,” he said.
Peterson wasn’t in the 82nd Army Airborne for long. He doesn’t even remember his company. But his injuries didn’t end his service—they just altered it. The Army was initially going to send him back to the front lines.
Doctors initially thought it was just a shoulder injury.
But after finding out that the shrapnel had ripped through much of his body, the Army made him an MP (Military Policeman) at a stockade. The shrapnel created a pocket of fluid pressing against his lungs, which had to be drained.
He later found out he was exposed to Agent Orange and is eternally grateful for the medical treatment he received at the VA Hospital in Iowa City.
“I’ve spent many weeks in that hospital,” he said.
The shrapnel is still inside Peterson, where it will stay.
“Every time they give me an X-ray, they ask if I know that’s in there, and I say ‘Yep,’’’ he said. “It was close to an artery, and they didn’t want to take it out,” he said.
As bad as his luck was in the war, Peterson’s work ethic and a bit of good fortune landed him a dream job upon his return to the States.
“I got hired by GE (General Electric) and retired from GE,” he said.
Peterson retired at 55 and spent the years between starting a family, two daughters, one son, and one grandchild.
After retirement, Peterson became heavily involved with the DAV organization — Disabled American Veterans — which provides free transportation to doctor appointments at the VA hospital in Iowa City. He was a regular at local car shows with his 1949 Ford convertible and 1966 Mustang, but he now focuses mainly on the DAV.
Whether they wanted to go or not, Peterson believes the men and women who served their country deserve any help they can get.
As a fellow veteran, he’s happy to provide it. Two years of his life have turned into a lifetime of dedication to his fellow soldiers.
Peterson regularly visits Pizza Ranch, hosting mini-fundraisers to keep the DAV trips to Iowa City going.
“We need some publicity for that,” he said.