Seminole’s American Legion Post 204 is honoring Peter S. Gatzke with a special flag at Veteran’s Park in downtown Seminole. This flag began flying April 1 and will remain for the entire month of April.

Gatzke was born in Colony, Oklahoma on Oct. 27, 1919. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1942-1945 and traveled to Florida and overseas. He served in Burma and China during WWII. He attained rank of SSG (staff sergeant) and was discharged in July of 1945.

Gatzke, the son of Fred and Mary (Schmidt) Gatzke, was a resident of Seminole County near Earlsboro, He married Bertha Neufeld on May 1, 1947, in Corn, Oklahoma and they remained married until her death on August 9, 2000. He passed away on Sept. 21, 2015 in Seminole at the age of 95.

Gatzke was employed by Grissom Implement for more than 20 years and was a Deacon at Fairview Baptist Church for 10 years, He was also an active member of the American Legion. His hobbies included working crossword and jigsaw puzzles and fall foliage tours. The American Legion

The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization. Focusing on service to veterans, servicemembers and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States.

Legion membership swiftly grew to over one million, and local posts sprang up across the country. Today, membership stands at nearly 2 million in more than 13,000 posts worldwide. The posts are organized into 55 departments: one each for the 50 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines.