Oscar Verner Peterson, born in Prentis, Wisc., 27 August 1899,
enlisted in the Navy 8 December 1920. Following his first training, he
served continuously at sea, and on 8 April 1941, reported for duty in
oiler Neosho (AO-23). Operating in the South Pacific with
aircraft carriers USS Yorktown (CV-5) and USS
Lexington (CV-2), Neosho was detached from the main
force of combatants on the eve of the Battle of the Coral Sea, with a
destroyer as escort. At about 0900 on 7 May 1942, a lone Japanese plane
spotted the two detached ships, and three heavy enemy attacks followed
during the day. In the last of these attacks, twenty dive bombers
concentrated on Neosho, and scored seven direct hits and
eight near misses within a few minutes. Furious fires broke out, and the
struggle to save the ship began. Chief Water Tender Peterson was in charge
of a repair party below, and although he was wounded, and all of his
assistants were out of action because of wounds, he ignored the
possibility of additional burns to close the bulkhead stop valves. He
later died of these burns on board a rescue ship on 13 May 1942. For such
extraordinary courage and conspicuous heroism above and beyond the call of
duty, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
The USS Peterson (DE-152) was sponsored by Mrs.
Lola B. Peterson and commissioned with Lt. Comdr. Richard F. Rea, USCG, in
command. The USS Peterson moved to Galveston, Texas on
6 October 1943 to continue her outfitting, then sailed by way of Algiers,
Louisiana to Bermuda for her shakedown.
Her first voyage between New York and Casablanca,
French Morocco, commenced 2 December 1943 when she sailed for Norfolk to
join the main body of a North Africa bound convoy. She returned to New
York 18 January 1944. The USS Peterson then shifted her
activity to Northern Europe making ten voyages to British and French
ports. On the first of these voyages, the Peterson, with the
other escorts of Division 22, steamed from New York 1 March to screen a
fast oiler convoy to Londonderry, Northern Ireland. On this voyage a
submarine sank the destroyer escort USS Leopold (DE-319).
The Peterson arrived with the convoy at Londonderry and
returned to New York 28 March where she was joined by destroyer escort USS
Gandy (DE-764). Departing New York 15 April with an Ireland-bound
convoy CU-21, the Peterson was detached the following day to
escort two merchant ships, which had collided, back to New York. On April
16th, U-550, a IXC40-type U-boat commanded by Klaus Hanert, fired three
torpedoes at the 11,000-ton Pan Pennsylvania, loaded with
140,000 barrels of gasoline and carrying seven aircraft on her deck. At
least two of the torpedoes hit the Pan Pennsylvania, causing
her to sink.
Rejoining the convoy later that day, the Peterson
joined Gandy and escort Joyce (DE-317) in
rescuing survivors of the torpedoed Pan Pennsylvania.
At 1345, the USS Joyce reported a
hot sound contact and the last survivors scrambled on board the Peterson
just as the Joyce dropped a pattern of 11 depth charges.
Unknown to the DE crews, Hanert had settled U-550 on the bottom 300 below.
Some of Joyce's depth charges detonated nearby, flooding
the U-boat and rupturing fuel and air lines. Hanert, believing he was
facing only one DE, decided to surface and fight it out with his
attacker. As he surfaced the U-boat, he loaded two T-5 acoustic
torpedoes into the forward tubes and prepared to unleash them on the USS
Joyce. As he surfaced at 1400 he was surprised at
finding not one, but three DEs hunting him. He
attempted to fire the T-5s, but was unable to because the torpedo tube
doors had been jammed shut by the Joyce's depth charges. As soon as the
U-boat surfaced, all three DEs opened fire. The Gandy rammed with a glancing blow
well aft as Hanert maneuvered to avoid the ram. As soon as Gandy
was clear, all three DEs resumed fire with their 3"/50s, 40mms, and
20mms. After the Peterson holed the conning tower, she passed
alongside the submarine and fired two shallow-set depth charges at close
range from her starboard "K" guns. At 1409 the submarine
surrendered and the crew commenced abandoning the sinking boat. The Joyce
picked up the crew and U-550 slid beneath the waves at 1430. The three
escorts rejoined the convoy and steamed safely to Lisahally, Northern
Ireland, returning to New York 12 May 1944.
The USS Peterson made three more convoy
voyages to Londonderry and return. She then made successive voyages from
New York to Plymouth, England (6 October-5 November 1944); from New York
to Cherbourg, France and Plymouth England (23 November-24 December); from
New York to Liverpool, England (10 January-9 February 1945); from New York
to Le Havre, France and Southampton, England (27 February-29 March); and
from Boston to Greenock, Scotland and Liverpool, England, returning to New
York 16 April. After an overhaul to fit her for extended duty in the
Pacific, the Peterson departed New York 4 June 1945 with the
rest of Escort Division 22 for exercises at Culebra Island, and at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She transited the Panama Canal 23 June, called at
San Diego for voyage repairs, and arrived Pearl Harbor 16 July.
With the end of the war, she reported to Commander,
Amphibious Group 8 and Commander, Transport Squadron 18 for duty. The Peterson
departed Pearl Harbor the last day of August 1945 with an LST convoy.
Calling at Saipan enroute, the convoy arrived off Wakayama, Japan, 27
September and Peterson assumed patrol in the Inland Sea
until 29 October. On that day she set course for the United States,
calling at Pearl Harbor, and arriving San Diego 17 November. She shifted
to San Pedro the following day. She got underway for the east coast,
transiting the Panama Canal 6 December. Three days later off the coast of
Florida, a PBM-3D (Mariner) landed close aboard to ask assistance. Peterson
towed the disabled plane to Ponce de Leon Inlet where a crash boat from
New Smyrna took over the tow. She then continued up the coast to
Charleston, S.C., arriving 10 December 1945. Peterson sailed
for Jacksonville, Florida on 14 January 1946, arriving the following day
to commence her inactivation. She was placed out of commission, in
reserve, at Green Cove Springs, Fla., 1 May 1946.
The USS Peterson recommissioned
in the Boston Naval Shipyard, 2 May 1952, Lt. Comdr. Kay S. Irwin in
command. The Peterson spent the next five years operating
with Escort Squadron 10 off the east coast of the United States, from
Newport, R.I., to Key West, Fla., and in the Caribbean. During these
years, she saw considerable duty as Fleet Sonar School ship at Key West.
In July 1953, she visited Bergen, Norway, and Copenhagen, Denmark. In
October 1954, she conducted simulated convoy escort exercises to waters
off Hamilton Inlet, Labrador. In July 1955, she cruised to Edinburgh,
Scotland, and Copenhagen. In May 1957, while in the Caribbean, she tracked
Jupiter missiles fired from Cape Canaveral and in August played a vital
role in the first successful recovery of a missile nose cone, attaching a
buoy-float to the nose cone flotation unit. The USS Peterson
put to sea 3 September 1957 with fifteen other warships and eleven
auxiliary vessels of Task Force 88.1, bound for Portland, England. She
reached Portland 14 September and was underway the next day for strenuous
North Atlantic Treaty Organization maneuvers. She conducted independent
reconnaissance patrol off Sweden until 19 September when she was joined by
destroyer escort USS Huse (DE-145), two Canadian destroyers
and a Dutch cruiser, for patrol off southern Sweden, and then to
Frederikshaven, Denmark, where she arrived 23 September. She departed that
port in company with Huse the next day for maneuvers in the
North Sea and reached La Havre, France, 30 September. After a visit to
Dunkirk, she returned to Newport 21 October. Peterson became
a unit of the newly created Destroyer Escort Squadron Twelve 1 November
and arrived at Key West 24 November for another tour of service as school
ship for the Fleet Sonar School. She departed Key West 23 January 1958 for
a Caribbean training cruise with her squadron. In May, Peterson
assisted in the first recovery of a full-size missile nose cone that had
penetrated the atmosphere. She resumed her Fleet Sonar school ship duty at
Key West 22 May 1958 and got underway 8 August for competitive exercises
off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She arrived Kingston, Jamaica 14 August 1958 and
put to sea within fifteen hours on an emergency mercy mission to deliver
badly needed water to a rescue tug tending a Greek freighter aground about
150 miles south of Kingston. The USS Peterson
resumed school ship duties at Key West 18 August 1958 and put to sea 3
January 1959 for waters off the north coast of Cuba, standing by with
other ships of her task group in the event American citizens in Havana
might need her protection. She returned to Key West 6 January and
continued services for the Fleet Sonar School. She departed 24 August to
participate in "Operation Deep Freeze 60." She passed through
the Panama Canal and arrived Dunedin, New Zealand, 22 September. A unit of
Task Force 43, she got underway six days later and steamed to Ocean
Weather Station (latitude 60 degrees south; longitude 170 degrees east).
On that station midway between Antarctica and New Zealand, she acted as a
weather communications and rescue ship for supply flights from
Christchurch to the southernmost continent.
From July 1961 to December 1963, the USS Peterson
served principally as a training ship for students of the U.S. Fleet Sonar
School, Key West, Fla. In April 1962, she visited Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
and Jamaica. During the second half of 1962, the Peterson
was a movie star, playing the role of the Japanese destroyer that rammed
and sank PT-109. On 22 October 1962, Peterson suddenly found
herself on a full war-time footing and bound full speed for quarantine
duty off the Cuban coast. She was ordered home in time for Christmas. Peterson
visited Guantanamo Bay for training in January and July 1963. January 1964
found Peterson patrolling the coasts of Columbia and
Venezuela. She returned to Key West on 23 February 1964. For the balance
of the year she operated out of Key West mainly as Fleet Sonar School
ship.
The USS Peterson received one
battle star for World War II service.
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