Colonel Wilbur J. Peterkin (February 13, 1904 – May 3, 1996) was a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in the United States Army during the Second World War in the

China Burma India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was officia ...

, and an executive and commanding officer of the United States Army Observer Group, commonly known as the

Dixie Mission The United States Army Observation Group, commonly known as the Dixie Mission, was the first US effort to gather intelligence and establish relations with the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army, then headquartered in the m ...

. Prior to the war, Peterkin was a high school teacher in

Sumner, Washington Sumner is a city in northern Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,621 at the 2020 census. Nearby cities include Puyallup to the west, Auburn to the north, and Bonney Lake to the east. History Sumner was founde ...

. Before commanding Dixie, Peterkin had spent almost two years in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

.Carolle J. Carter, ''Mission to Yenan: American Liaison with the Chinese Communists, 1944 - 1947''(Lexington, KY: U of Kentucky Press, 1997), 33. Peterkin went to school in Polson, Montana, and Portland, Oregon. He received a B.S. in military science and education from the University of Oregon where he was drum major of the university band (he played the

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

and tuba, later directing the high school band in

). He was an infantry instructor in Fort Benning, Georgia, from 1941–1943. From 1943-44 he trained Kuomintang officers in

South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

. After World War II he served with the

415th Infantry Regiment Service during the World Wars The 415th Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army Reserve. Established 24 June 1921 as the 415th Infantry, part of the Organized Reserves, it was assigned to the 104th Infantry Division (United States), ...

, 104th Infantry Division (Reserve) from 1946–1964, and was the commanding officer 1948–1957.

Resources

*William P. Head,'' Yenan!: Colonel Wilbur Peterkin and the American Military Mission to the Chinese Communists, 1944–1945'' (Chapel Hill, N.C.: Documentary Publications, 1987). *Colonel W. J. Peterkin, ''Inside China 1943-1945: An Eyewitness Account of America's Mission in Yenan'' (Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1992). *Carolle J. Carter, ''Mission to Yenan: American Liaison with the Chinese Communists 1944-1947'' (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1997). *Obituary, Wilbur James Peterkin, '' Tacoma News Tribune'', Tacoma, Washington, May 5, 1996

Notes

1904 births 1996 deaths Dixie Mission participants United States Army officers American military personnel of World War II People from Clinton, Iowa People from Sumner, Washington Military personnel from Iowa {{US-army-World-War-II-bio-stub

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