It has been a long time since Randall Robert “Randy” Peters joined the Corps’ ghostly assemblage in May 1990. It is, therefore, somewhat difficult to determine precisely how best to commemorate his all-too-short life, for he was an enigma. He had both bright and gloomy sides to his personality. During Beast Barracks in 1965, he penned in his personal history sheet that he chose on his own initiative to become a cadet. He also wrote that attending the Academy was both a great honor and a great trial, requiring enormous sacrifices. At that point, Beast must have been getting to him. Yet he went on to acclaim that he possessed an intense desire to lead men, armies, or countries. Randy was from time to time down but never out.
I knew him as Randy, but others affectionately called him “the Czar.” He was a student of Russian language and culture, but the nickname probably reflected his habit of posting a picture of Czar Nicholas II in his absence card, rather than his own. He also had a penchant for impersonating Russian characters, alternating between a benevolent czar and a stern Soviet commissar. He needed that playful sense of humor to prevail against what he perceived as the dark forces, the Department of Tactics and the Office of Physical Education, OPE. When pressed by the dark forces he could be as gloomy as a Central Area punishment tour in January. However, he would soon find humor in his predicament and turn the circumstances into parody, cheering himself and amusing us all. He always made us smile.
Despite his travails, Randy persevered and, though it would probably surprise him, his efforts to improve were noticed by his tactical officer, even praised. During summer training at Camp Buckner, he was a squad leader for the engineer concertina fence exercise. His report reads, “Cadet Peters knew what was required, gave a good briefing, and had good supervision.” He also demonstrated his leadership potential as a patrol leader during Recondo. The next year he was praised as an assistant squad leader during Beast. His cadet rater wrote, “I feel he has been done a grave injustice as far as aptitude goes.” Though he never quite dominated the challenges presented by OPE, he prevailed. He was placed on probation by OPE in January 1966, but he overcame that probation. Although dogged by OPE until graduation he, nevertheless, met the standard. In contrast to his athletic performance, his academic performance never faltered, and his academic work during first class year placed him well within the upper half. In contemporary Army speak, he was resilient. At graduation, he and we could all laugh.
Following graduation and completion of the Field Artillery Basic Officer Course Randy served in the 1/19 Field Artillery Battalion before deploying to Vietnam. There he served in an Artillery Support Command and endured the rantings of a toxic commander to earn a Bronze Star. I next saw him when he was in Recruiting Command assigned to a recruiting station in his hometown, Milwaukee, WI. He groaned about the difficulties of recruiting in the early post-Vietnam era but soldiered on and was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal; no small achievement in a tough position in an era when the Army did not offer an open cookie jar of awards. Randy’s last active duty assignment was at Fort Polk, LA, serving in the 1/21 Field Artillery Battalion and the 1/40 Armor Battalion. There in 1977 he resigned and entered the Army Reserves, ultimately to be promoted to major. In 1977, Randy joined Texas Instruments in Houston, TX as a database administrator. He went on to complete an MBA at Houston Baptist University and to become a strategic planner for TI in 1981.
For most of the 1969 E-2 Dogs, we last saw Randy at the 20-year  reunion. Randy had contracted HIV/AIDS, and his health was already failing. Nevertheless, despite his illness, he came to share memories and to show us once again that he still was able to smile in adversity and make us laugh. He also came because he not only considered being a cadet a great personal honor but also considered being among us, his classmates, a personal honor. He hazarded his life in battle in Vietnam and served his country well. He was a constant friend. It has been more than 20 years since his passing, but we feel the grip of his far-off hold.
— William Gregor ’69 with the aid of the E-2 dogs.