Beloved Santa Barbara resident and 101st Airborne paratrooper leaves a legacy of courage, service and community
Arthur Petersen in 2017.
SANTA BARBARA — The life and remarkable legacy of decorated World War II veteran Arthur Max Petersen will be celebrated October 2 at Santa Barbara Cemetery, following the death of the beloved Santa Barbara resident on September 14 at the age of 102.
Petersen was a member of the famed 101st Airborne Division and participated in some of the most significant battles of World War II, including the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the Battle of Carentan, Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, the Battle of the Bulge and the occupation of Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest in Germany. He was wounded twice and received two Purple Hearts, along with other military decorations. In 2015, France awarded him its Legion of Honor Medal for his distinguished service.
Arthur Petersen in 1945.
Petersen’s journey to becoming a paratrooper began when he saw an Army recruiting poster offering an additional $50 a month to volunteers. He signed up and endured the notoriously grueling training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, followed by parachute school at Fort Benning. He became an original member of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne.
Just 18 days before D-Day, Petersen, who was a citizen of Mexico, and several fellow soldiers were granted U.S. citizenship at the American Consulate in England.
After the war, Petersen returned to Santa Barbara, married his sweetheart, Gloria Davila, and began a 76-year marriage. Together they raised four children. He established Pacific Maintenance Service and became deeply involved in the Santa Barbara community.
For more than 20 years, Petersen volunteered twice a week at the Santa Barbara VA Clinic. He was active with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Military Order of the Purple Heart, participated in local patriotic parades and Memorial Day and Veterans Day activities, and regularly spoke to local elementary school students about his experiences in World War II.
His family says Petersen understood that surviving the war carried a responsibility to remember those who did not.
“He was still here to tell the stories for those who could not and to live a good life to the fullest of his capability,” his family said.
His commitment to remembrance continued throughout his life. In 2024, Petersen was honored with the Distinguished Member of the 506th Infantry Regiment award and celebrated his 100th birthday surrounded by the Santa Barbara community.
Now, family, friends, fellow veterans and the general public are invited to gather at Santa Barbara Cemetery on October 2 to honor a remarkable life — not only that of a decorated combat veteran, but of a husband, father, grandfather, businessman and community volunteer who spent more than eight decades giving back to the place he called home.
The public is welcome to join the family graveside for a military burial and memorial honoring Art Petersen at the Santa Barbara Cemetery, 901 Channel Dr, Santa Barbara, CA 93108
In attendance will be members of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) serving as pallbearers, an elite light infantry division of the United States Army specializing in helicopter-borne air assault operations. They will conduct the military funeral flag folding ceremony.
The ceremony on Friday, Oct 2, 2026, begins at 1:15 at the Santa Barbara Cemetery and will also include:
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David Munoz, Catholic Deacon
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LT. John Blankenship, USN officiant
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David Gonzales, Vocalist
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Jerry Gray, Military Chaplain
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Taps by Howard Hudson
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Bill Boetticher, bagpiper
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The ceremony will conclude with a T-34 squadron flyover with 4 passes including the missing man formation
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For more information about Pierre Claeyssens Veteran Foundation, visit www.pcvf.org
Gloria Petersen,
Sonia Castellanos, Bob Petersen, Martha Graf, (top row), Arthur Petersen, and Sam Petersen (bottom row).