“I always remember my mother telling me that he was afraid of heights,” said Debra Favicchio, the niece of Medal of Honor recipient Pvt. George J. Peters. “Yet when he signed up and enlisted he went and he decided to be a paratrooper, and it was simply because they received more money. He knew that would mean he could send more home to my grandmother.”

Favicchio fondly remembers stories of her heroic uncle, who was killed in the line of duty while overseas and laid to rest in the Netherlands American Cemetery, the only American war cemetery in the Netherlands, located in the small Dutch town of Margraten.

The Faces of Margraten: They Will Remain Forever Young, a book authored by Jori Videc, Sebastiaan Vonk and Arie-Jan van Hees, which documents photos and short stories of the heroic men and women who gave their lives in the war, and have been laid to rest in the town. The book, which sold out twice after its release in the Netherlands, is finally about to see an American release.

Only 21 years old at the time of his death, Pvt. Peters is still remembered almost 80 years later for his heroic actions.

“He’s one of the more well known soldiers of Margraten,” said Jori Videc, one of the book's co-authors. “It can be very hard when searching the internet to find a citation for his medal of honor or descriptions of his heroics because he died after an act of self sacrifice. The press release, I think it must be from 1946, where the official citation of his medal of honor, and the citation is based on several eyewitness accounts of other soldiers who witnessed his heroic acts.”

Videc said that Peters was a radio operator with the 507 Parachute Infantry Regiment which was part of the 82nd Airborne Division which was deployed on D-Day and during operation market garden in Holland. Videc wasn’t sure if Peters was deployed in the specific operation because after market garden the regiment was transferred to the 17th Airborne “Golden Talon” Division.

Pvt. Peters, the division’s radio operator, was dropped into Germany on the eastern bank of the Rhine river during operation varsity on March 24, 1945, Videc explained.

The military’s press release regarding the event reads that “Private Peters landed with 10 others in a clearing near the edge of a woods from where a hostile machine gun raked them with murderous fire.”

The group of soldiers landed in an open field, forced to hug the ground to avoid the onslaught of fire from the enemy machine gun and rifles that sought to put an end to the soldiers and their mission. The military report includes a description of the moment from Technical Sergeant Cleo L. Hohn, of Iowa, who the report says landed about 100 yards from the enemy encampment. .

“I was lucky enough to land in a fold of ground that protected me from the gun,” Sergeant Hohn reported. “Private Peters was halfway between me and the machine gun, trying to wriggle free of his ‘chute harness while ducking the hail of bullets. We were all forced to hug the ground.”

Peters then, without orders Videc said, armed only with his rifle and hand grenades began a one man charge. The enemy gunners focused their fire on him, allowing his comrades to get themselves out of their harnesses and take cover. While Peters was running the rest of the company could see him being struck by bullets and becoming severely wounded, but Peters carried on forward.

“Although he was in pain he rose up again and ran further into the nest as the citation says,” Videc, who has become an expert on Peters’ story, explained. “Then he was hit a second time and was so severely wounded he couldn’t stand up again. I think that the Germans must have thought at the moment that he was killed, but he wasn’t. Though he was bleeding very heavily and mortally wounded he started to crawl with his last energy, his last power, further towards the machine gun nest until he was to throw hand grenades.”

When the grenades exploded in the machine gun nests, the guns stopped firing, Videc continued. The soldiers manning the machine guns were killed and the remaining German soldiers with rifles began to withdraw. The remaining Allied troops made their way, as the enemy retreated, to Pvt. Peters, finding him already unconscious. He was taken into the nearby woods before more enemy troops showed up, but unfortunately Peters died within a few minutes.

“I don’t know how much history you want,” began Joan Parenteau, Pvt. Peters’ niece, “but there were like seven children in the family and he was the fifth born and the youngest son. He was very close to my mom and their mother. My mom always said he was a protector. He was always selfless, and I think that really speaks to what he did.”

Though he died that day, Pvt. George J. Peters has not been forgotten by his family, the people of Margraten nor the people of Cranston. Those interested in purchasing the book, The Faces of Margraten: They Will Remain Forever Young, can find it available at several online retailers such as amazon and Barnes & Noble.