BERT W. PETERKA
83, of Mililani, a Retired Lt. Colonel in the United States Marine Corps, and later the owner of Custom Golf Shop on South King St. passed away on July 15, 2011 at Tripler Medical Center.
He is survived by wife Taeko; sons Bert Jr. and Bret of Kailua; daughters Pam Kinkema and Patti Johnson in Texas; Lisa Hurton in Virginia; Ruriko Yocum in Missouri; brother Louis in California; eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
Born in Ft. Worth, Texas, in 1927, he falsified his birth certificate and in 1943 enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at age 15. Serving in the Marine Raider Battalion of the Third Marine Division, he made the assaults on Guam in 1944 and Iwo Jima in 1945, receiving a Bronze Star and his first Purple Heart. During the Korean Conflict, he served at the Chosin Reservoir when the Chinese Army crossed the Yalu River and invaded Korea in 1950, where he received his second Purple Heart. Later, in 1968 he was the Exec Officer of a Battalion in the 3rd Marine Division operating north of Da Nang in South Vietnam where he received his second Bronze Star for Valor. After working for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, his last tour of duty was in Hawaii where he retired in 1978.
In July, 1978 he started living the retirement we all dream of; he opened Custom Golf Shop, made friends, "worked" in his lifelong love of golf, and played golf at the Kaneohe Klipper 4 or 5 days a week for the next 33 years.
Forever a Marine, he was a loving husband, a wonderful and generous father, grandfather, great grandfather and a loyal friend to all he knew. We will always remember, and always miss him.
Full Military Services will be at Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe on Wednesday, May 30th at 10:00 AM
BERT W. PETERKA
83, of Mililani, a Retired Lt. Colonel in the United States Marine Corps, and later the owner of Custom Golf Shop on South King St. passed away on July 15, 2011 at Tripler Medical Center.
He is survived by wife Taeko; sons Bert Jr. and Bret of Kailua; daughters Pam Kinkema and Patti Johnson in Texas; Lisa Hurton in Virginia; Ruriko Yocum in Missouri; brother Louis in California; eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
Born in Ft. Worth, Texas, in 1927, he falsified his birth certificate and in 1943 enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at age 15. Serving in the Marine Raider Battalion of the Third Marine Division, he made the assaults on Guam in 1944 and Iwo Jima in 1945, receiving a Bronze Star and his first Purple Heart. During the Korean Conflict, he served at the Chosin Reservoir when the Chinese Army crossed the Yalu River and invaded Korea in 1950, where he received his second Purple Heart. Later, in 1968 he was the Exec Officer of a Battalion in the 3rd Marine Division operating north of Da Nang in South Vietnam where he received his second Bronze Star for Valor. After working for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, his last tour of duty was in Hawaii where he retired in 1978.
In July, 1978 he started living the retirement we all dream of; he opened Custom Golf Shop, made friends, "worked" in his lifelong love of golf, and played golf at the Kaneohe Klipper 4 or 5 days a week for the next 33 years.
Forever a Marine, he was a loving husband, a wonderful and generous father, grandfather, great grandfather and a loyal friend to all he knew. We will always remember, and always miss him.
Full Military Services will be at Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe on Wednesday, May 30th at 10:00 AMOur deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased
