Anders Holland Peterson

Anders was an only child, born in Pittsburgh eight years after the marriage of Anders Morrell Peterson of New York and Adelaide Holland of Chicago. His father, an accountant and auditor, was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, tracing his family line to Isaac Morrell, a drummer boy who rose to the rank of Sergeant by 1782. 

The Petersons had a home in the suburb of Bellevue, along the Ohio River north of Pittsburgh. In 1920 the father and teenage son had to deal with Adelaide’s death. Sometime in the next few years the profound effect of her absence was such that both son and father went their separate ways. Young Anders made his way to Philadelphia and his father returned to Chicago where he had lived when he was first married.

The next date on the timeline is when Anders registered for the draft in Philadelphia on October 16, 1940. He reported he was self-employed and living at 5144 Walnut Street in West Philly.

America found itself on alert and focused on world events over the next 18 months, and so was Anders, so he decided to serve his country. He was in Birmingham, Alabama when he enlisted in the Naval Reserve on June 11, 1942. Records show his rating in July was Seaman 1st Class and he was sent to the Naval Construction Training Center in Norfolk. 

First, though, he was given a furlough and he went to Philadelphia and stayed at the West Philadelphia YMCA. That’s in the same block as his former address and is most likely where he lived years before. 

His brief naval career lasted just six weeks, ending when his life ended on August 1. An investigation concluded it was accidental, as reported here. While no evidence was found, suicide couldn’t be ruled out as a motive, given the presumed lack of any support structure from family and friends.

The Philadelphia Naval Hospital took charge of his burial here in the Naval Plot and provided a military headstone.