Page 115 - Stand Down Vietnam

NMCB Four Patch Personal Jacket

My name is Richard Carl Peterson, I was born in Miami
Beach, Florida, on October 17, 1944. My father was
stationed in Pensacola, went to Pearl Harbor, and spent
his time during World War Two there. I was raised in

many places.

I guess you could say I was a typical teenager. I
wasn’t a troublemaker, I listened to rock and roll
music, music that you could understand; I loved the
Beach Boy’s song Surfer Girl and the Four Seasons. I
liked the songs that we could understand and understand
what they are saying. I don’t recall listening to any
of the protest music.

To me, I thought the hippies and protestors were just a
bunch of cowards. Especially the draft dodgers; just a
bunch of cowards.

We moved to Winchester, Kentucky, in 1961. I was in
Junior High School and already made up my mind that
when I graduated, I was going to join the Navy. I
decided to drop out and join the Navy. When I told my
mom what I wanted to do, said it would be over her dead
body.