Private First Class Petersen was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy in North Korea on 23 April 1951 and died while a prisoner on 20 December 1951. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Petersen was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.