Biographies from Troy Military Banners
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a weekly series that will appear in print every Sunday until Veterans Day. Each week, five military members featured on a Troy Military Banner will be highlighted.
1. Peter M. Guenette, U.S. Army
Peter M. Guenette was born on January 4, 1948 to Mr. &
Mrs. Eugene Guene t t e . Peter grew up in Lans i ngburgh along with his siblings: his brother, Michael, and sisters, Mary Rougie, Margaret Jackson and Helen Guenette.
Growing up, Peter attended St. Augustine’s grade school, Catholic Central High School and Hudson Valley Community College.
In 1961, South Vietnam signed a military and economic aid treaty with the United States leading to the arrival (1961) of U. S. support troops and the formation (1962) of the U. S. Military Assistance Command. Mounting dissatisfaction with the ineffectiveness and corruption of Diem’s government culminated ( Nov 1963) in a military coup engineered by Duing Van Minh; Diem was executed. No one was able to establish control in South Vietnam until June 1965, when Nguyen cao Jy became premier, but U. S. military aid to South Vietnam increased, especially after the U.S. Senate passed the Tonkin Gulf resolution (Aug 7, 1964)at the request of President Lyndon B. Johnson.
In early 1965, the United States began air raids on North Vietnam and on Communist- controlled areas in the South; by 1966 there were 190,000 U. S. troops in South Vietnam. North Vietnam, meanwhile, was receiving armaments and technical assistance from the Soviet Union and other Communist countries.
Although not drafted, Peter wanted to serve his country. He enlisted in the United States Army in Albany, New York on 28 March 1967 at the age of nineteen. Peter immediately left for basic training. He completed reception at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Basic Training at Fort Gordon, Georgia, Infantry Individual Advance Training at Fort Benning, Georgia and then underwent Airborne Training at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Upon graduation from Airborne School in September 1967, Peter was assigned to Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. In December 1967, 2nd Battalion 506th PIR deployed for combat to the Republic of Vietnam.
On May 18, 1698, Peter M. Guenette was serving as a specialist four in Company D, 2nd Battalion (Airborne) , 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile). During a firefight on that day, in Quan Tan Uyen Province, Republic of Vietnam, Guenette smothered the blast of an enemy hand grenade with his body, sacrificing his life to protect those around him.
Peter M. Guenette, aged