The Lake Minnetonka Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) celebrated Zephyrhills, Florida, resident Pamela Ann Daniel Petersen, for her trailblazing service in the United States Navy as a Radioman Seaman during the Vietnam War era.
Seaman Petersen was awarded a hand-crafted Quilt of Valor presented at a ceremony held in her honor on October 18, 2025, at Oak Knoll Lutheran Church in her native state of Minnesota.
The descendant of a Revolutionary War veteran, Petersen enlisted in the Navy after high school. Drawn by a sense of patriotism and hoping to earn a college degree via the GI Bill, she joined at a time when roles for women were severely limited.
However, after scoring exceptionally well on her entrance exams, Petersen was informed that the radioman rate was newly available to women. Petersen immediately embraced the challenge, stating, “That’s for me. I want to be one of the first women in that field!”
Petersen graduated fourth in her class of forty students at Radioman “A” School in Bainbridge, Maryland. She then received orders to join Commander Oceanographic Systems Pacific (COSP) on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. At this communications center for the Naval Third Fleet Command, Petersen held a top-secret clearance and worked as part of a team sending and receiving critical messages around the world.
While at COSP, Petersen met her future husband, Oceanographic Technician 3rd Class (OT3), Paul Petersen, whom she married on February 14, 1975. Upon being discharged from the Navy, both Pam and Paul graduated from the University of North Dakota 1983, with their three children, Wendy, Mark, and Andy. watching them receive their diplomas.
After college graduation, the family moved to San Diego, California, where Pam and Paul both worked as software engineers. They returned to Minnesota in 1992 and lived in the city of Delano for 30 years. The couple recently moved to Zephyrhills, Florida, where they just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Reflecting on her military service, Petersen said, “It was an honor to serve my country. I was glad to be one of those pioneering women who were able to show the Navy that women would be valuable assets.”
The Quilt of Valor Foundation was established in 2003 with a mission to “cover veterans touched by war with comfort and healing.” Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR Service to Veterans Chair, Margie Nash,
presented Seaman Petersen her quilt with this heartfelt expression of gratitude, “We honor you for your service, for leaving all you held dear, for standing in harm’s way in a time of crisis, and for protecting us from the effects of war. This Quilt of Valor is our way to say thank you for your service, sacrifice, and valor.”
“We are proud to recognize the courageous men and women who have defended and represented the United States during times of war,” says Lake Minnetonka Chapter DAR Regent, Michelle White. “It was a privilege for our chapter to honor Seaman Petersen with a Quilt of Valor and publicly recognize her distinguished service in the Vietnam War era.”
