Posted by Washington Post on January 28, 2003:

Washington Post Obit Robert James Petersen, 65, a retired Army colonel who was a veteran of the wars in Korea and Vietnam, died of a heart attack Aug. 27 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Montreal. A resident of Alexandria, he was on vacation when he was stricken. Col. Petersen was born in Chicago. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. in the class of 1948 and was commissioned in the infantry. He later received a master's degree in psychology from Vanderbilt University, and he was a graduate of the Command and General Staff College and the National War College. In addition to his service in Korea and Vietnam, he served abroad in Japan and Germany. Other assignments took him to various Army posts in the United States, including Washington, and he was chief of staff of the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii when he retired in 1975. Col. Petersen's military decorations include the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Purple Heart, the Air Medal and the Army Commendation Medal. After his retirement, Col. Petersen moved to the Washington area and went to work for Distribution Codes, Inc. He worked on the development of universal product bar code systems that can be read by scanners and similar devices. He was a vice president of the company when he retired. Col. Petersen was secretary of the West Point Class of 1948, and he was a member of the National Metric Council. Survivors include his wife of 43 years, Evelyn Settle "Dolly" Petersen of Alexandria, three children, Susan Petersen McLaughlin of Annandale, Robert James Petersen Jr. of Austin, Tex. and Dr. Kenneth E. Petersen of Albuquerque, a brother, Richard Engel Petersen of Oak Lawn, Ill. and six grandchildren.

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