Mankato man honored by Navy for 70 years of service
Jun. 11—MANKATO — A U.S. Navy representative contacted The Pillars of Mankato for help arranging a ceremony to acknowledge the meritorious public service by a resident of the senior living community.
When Pillars Director of Activities Heather Ballman asked the honoree about what was being celebrated, Dwain Petersen, 88, didn't give many details.
"I think he's been downplaying this," Ballman said.
Petersen's service to his country — while in the Navy and after his retirement — are impressive enough to have caught the attention of the acting secretary of the Navy in 2017, who authorized the award.
"Dwain is being recognized for his sustained superior performance. As of 2022, he has a cumulative 70 years of service to this country," said Mark Salmen, a retired Navy captain who presented the honors.
Bureaucratic red tape and COVID-19 restrictions delayed the presentation until this week's outdoor event Thursday at The Pillars.
The Navy typically awards civilians medal and lapel pins like the ones presented to Petersen. He wore his short-sleeved work Navy whites for the ceremony that included a reading of his biography.
"I am a retired U.S, Navy commander and I was a professor at MSU for 33 years," he said.
Petersen was 17 when he joined the Naval Air Reserve in 1952. Two years later, he received his draft notice. He picked the Navy's officer candidate school in Rhode Island.
"I knew I didn't want to go into the Army ... I did not want to sleep in a foxhole," Petersen said.
After training to be a naval aviation observer and an airborne CIC officer, he supervised communications between the Midway Islands and Adak, Alaska.
"I served during the Cold War as a spy in the sky. We kept the Russians from invading California," Petersen said.
During his naval career, Petersen, accompanied by his wife, Carol, and their growing family, lived in Illinois, Hawaii and San Diego.
After his release from active duty, he immediately reported to a Naval Reserve Unit in Des Moines, Iowa.
He earned a master's degree at Drake University. He taught college courses in human relations until he retired as a professor emeritus.
His non-naval achievements include helping win full membership for women in Kiwanis International.
After retiring from the Naval reserves in 1983, Petersen was head of the state's Blue and Gold Officers. The group of volunteers helps naval "plebes" through the admissions process.
"When Dwain stepped down from his state coordinator duties, we asked him to stay on and handle the schools and colleges in the general vicinity of Mankato," said Salmen, current head of Minnesota's Blue and Gold Officers.
Salmen said Petersen has not yet set a time for ending his volunteer service. As a local BGO coordinator, Petersen's assistance has helped the Navy gain nearly 40 successful applicants.
Petersen does not recall any of those plebes dropping out of the Navy.
About 40 people attended the Mankato ceremony, which included patriotic music selections and many well wishes from attendees.
"I didn't know Dwain until I moved here, but I know he's very active in the community and deserves the honor," said one Pillars resident. Other residents nodded in agreement.
After the ceremony, Petersen joked and chatted with his guests. His opinion about the ceremony apparently changed.
"It was a bit more ... well, a lot more than I expected," Petersen said.
