Oscar V. Peterson

Closing vital valves aboard the damaged Neosho

Oscar Verner Peterson was born on 27 August 1899 in Prentice, Wisconsin. He served as a chief watertender in the United States Navy aboard USS Neosho.

On 7 May 1942 in the Coral Sea, Japanese aircraft attacked the ship. Peterson was in charge of a repair party whose other members were injured. Severely wounded himself, he closed the bulkhead stop valves without assistance, sustaining further burns. He died on 13 May from his injuries.

Peterson received the Medal of Honor posthumously. The medal was mailed to his widow, Lola, in December 1942. He was buried at sea and is commemorated by a marker in Richfield Cemetery in Idaho.

Medal of Honor citation

For extraordinary courage and conspicuous heroism above and beyond the call of duty while in charge of a repair party during an attack on the U.S.S. Neosho by enemy Japanese aerial forces on 7 May 1942. Lacking assistance because of injuries to the other members of his repair party and severely wounded himself, Peterson, with no concern for his own life, closed the bulkhead stop valves and in so doing received additional burns which resulted in his death. His spirit of self-sacrifice and loyalty, characteristic of a fine seaman, was in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.