Patty Peterson was downstairs putting her kids to bed, so she didn’t see the two Marines come rolling up the driveway of her parent’s Clarkston home just after dark.
But she did hear the dog bark, and when her younger sister appeared in the doorway just moments later, she knew that what she’d been feeling all day was real. Bad news was mere seconds away.
‘Patty, you better come upstairs,? her sister said.
Two grim-faced Marines stood waiting by the organ in the foyer. They’d come to give Patty the bad news every military family dreads.
Marine Capt. Justin D. Peterson, Patty’s husband, died Oct. 1 from injuries suffered in a non-hostile vehicle accident in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
Patty had been looking forward to two weeks of R and R with Justin when he comes home in December. Suddenly, she found herself planning his funeral.
‘I was concerned about it turning into a reunion,? she said, after being told by the staff at Harrington Funeral Home to expect hundreds. ‘It didn’t. I was glad to see people handling it in a respectful manner, and not being negative toward the military or the war. That’s not what Justin would have wanted, that’s not who he was.?
And it’s not who Patty is, either, and she’s remained steadfast through the ordeal.
‘There are times when it seems unfair,? she said. ‘I know people who’ve been over there four times and nothing’s happened to them. Yeah, it’s unfair. But I can’t change it. It is what it is.?
Mourners filled in 700 lines in the funeral home’s guest book. An estimated 1,300 people showed up to pay their respects.
Justin was assigned to 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, in Twentynine Palms, Calif. His assignment in Iraq wasn’t supposed to be dangerous; in fact, some members of his team had called their mission ‘boring.? They saw no action, no conflict of any kind, really.
But it didn’t matter. Justin was killed when a tire on the vehicle he was riding in blew out and caused the vehicle to roll.
Patty had moved home with her parents last April. She hadn’t been crazy about the idea, but she knew that Justin would worry less knowing his wife and kids were safe with family while he was in Iraq.
He came out to spend a few days with Patty, whom he’d wed in July 2002, and Jayden, now 2, for a little R and R before he deployed.
‘Stay a few more days,? Patty recalls Justin’s team leader saying when it was time to deploy. Patty was 9 months pregnant.
Then, again, when it was time to go, and still no baby, he called again.
‘Stay a few more days.?
Finally, with an understanding hospital staff who wanted the Marine to hold his child before going off to war, Patty was induced and little Caitlin arrived in time to spend three days with her daddy. It would be the only time he’d ever get to hold her. Six months later, the family would be planning his funeral.
Patty calls those six months without him a blessing and a curse.
‘We didn’t get to spend that time with him,? she said. ‘But he hasn’t been here in six months, so we were already used to missing him. Now I’m missing his phone calls and his emails, too.?
Patty wanted to honor her husband in a unique and personal way, so after the funeral, she planned to hold a party the following day at the Clarkston Union. Justin loved the restaurant’s Mac and Cheese, and he was crazy about the Sausage Sampler. So they reserved the lower level, put out bowls of jelly beans and Mike and Ike’s, also Justin’s favorites, and had a party.
‘I couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to honor Justin than to go sit someplace and talk and laugh, and I told Justin’s parents, ‘sorry, but you guys aren’t invited,?’she said. ‘I knew that people would feel inappropriate laughing and having a good time around them right now, and that’s what I wanted for Justin. I wanted people to laugh, because he was always laughing.?
The Clarkston Union picked up the entire tab for the evening.
‘We never even discussed doing it, it was just a given,? said owner Curt Catallo. ‘We were honored that they’d come here to us to honor such a noble life.?
Patty continues to keep with her daily routine and focus on the kids. She knows it what her husband would want.
‘I was raised in the church and so was Justin,? she said. ‘We have a strong faith, we know where he is and we know we’ll see him again.?