Captain Pete

Peter Silverlos Livingston was born before World War II and would be considered a traditionalist in today’s jargon. There is an old saying, “You can take the kid out of Brooklyn but you can’t take Brooklyn out of the kid”. As a young kid growing up in Brooklyn, New York, Peter had the opportunity of being involved in many activities as a young boy. Brooklyn was the most populated of the five boroughs of New York City with over 3 million people of mostly European extraction including many other ethnic races from all over the world during World War II.  New York City was and still is the biggest city in the country.

There were more combat troops from Brooklyn than any other area in the country. Over three thousand died in World War II. The average age of those who fought and died in WWII was 26 years old. Believe It or not, the average age of those who fought and died in Vietnam was 19 years old. Also, Marine casualties in Viet Nam totaled over 13 thousand.

The Viet Nam war was one of the longest U.S. conflicts to date totaling ten years from 1965 to 1975, but the U.S. had advisors there for a number of years even before 1965. Over 58,000 U.S. troops died in Viet Nam and some are still Missing In Action (MIA’s) like the great track and field star Cliff Cushman. He was from the University of Kansas and was a silver medalist in the Olympics and a track buddy of Pete's. He flew an Air Force jet when he went missing. The Viet Nam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington D.C. is a long black slab marble wall dedicated to all the fallen warriors and those that served and fought in Viet Nam, including those who are still MIA. Each of the soldiers names are inscribed on it in chronological order based on the date they died and served.

This honor has been bestowed on all these veterans who courageously fought in the Viet Nam war conflict as remembered by the United States which dedicated the building of this wall in their honor. The monument’s importance and significance is a symbol for all peoples in the United States and future generations to remember the sacrifice these veterans undertook regarding this conflict.