Initially Peter Weiss says he wished to follow in his father’s footsteps, so in 1966 he made a visit to the Navy recruiter with enlistment in mind. At that time, the Navy had too many men trying to get in as officers and according to Peter, “At the time I was wearing glasses.” The Naval recruitment officer told Peter, “Sorry, we have so much demand we are cutting off people that wear glasses. You can’t get in, but if you go next door to the Marines, they use bayonets and you just have to have vision to get you in close.”
In his interview for the film, Peter goes on to say, “I guess I always wanted to be in the Marines.”
Peter Weiss was twenty-three years old and lived in Plainview, New York, when he enlisted in the Marine Corps where he became an officer and was assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Marines when he arrived in Vietnam in 1967.
Peter Weiss
In his tenure with Bravo Company, Peter Weiss was the platoon commander for weapons platoon and then for First Platoon. His final three months in Vietnam were spent as an intelligence officer.
Prior to his retirement in May 2012, Peter worked as a senior vice president at Toys R Us.
