Hardy Wilbur Peterson was born Aug. 4, 1919 in Helena, Montana. His mother, Hildur Gustavson Peterson, was a homemaker and his father, Fritz Peterson, a miner. They were Swedish immigrants.

By 1930 the family, which included four sons, had moved to Seattle, Washington, where the father did odd jobs.

Hardy completed 11th grade at Franklin High School in Seattle and served in the Civilian Conservation Corps, a Depression-era federal jobs program. He was in Co. 2917 at Electronic, Washington.  The CCC, as it was known, employed single men 18 to 25 to plant trees, build roads and trails and make other improvements to public land, forests and parks. The men lived at camps across the country and were provided a bed and three meals a day. Of their $30 monthly pay, $25 was sent to their families.

Hardy Peterson enlisted in the Navy on Nov. 14, 1938. He was a fire controlman and petty officer third class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

At least two brothers, George and Harry, also served in the military during World War II and survived.

Sources: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; grave markers; Census; Navy enlistment records and muster roll; Montana marriage record. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.