This ship was named for Chief Water Tender Oscar V. Peterson (1899–1942), who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions during the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Her first voyage between New York and Casablanca, French Morocco, commenced 2 December when Peterson sailed for Norfolk, Virginia to join the main body of a North Africa bound convoy.

On the first of these voyages, Peterson with the other escorts of Division 22 steamed from New York 1 March to screen a fast oiler convoy to Derry, Northern Ireland.

En route to rejoin the convoy later on the same day, Peterson joined Gandy and USS Joyce in rescuing survivors of the torpedoed Pan Pennsylvania and destroying the attacker.

The sunken German U-boat was found on 23 July 2012 in deep water about 70 nautical miles (130 km; 81 mi) south of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

After an overhaul to fit her for extended duty in the Pacific, 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.

Calling at Saipan en route, the convoy arrived off Wakayama, Japan, 27 September and Peterson assumed patrol in the Inland Sea until 29 October.

Peterson spent the next five years operating with Escort Squadron 10 off the east coast of the United States, from Newport, Rhode Island, to Key West, Florida, and in the Caribbean Sea.

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 resumed her Fleet Sonar schoolship duty at Key West 22 May 1958 and got underway 8 August for competitive exercises off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Peterson resumed schoolship 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.

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 Peterson served principally as a training ship for students of the U.S. Fleet Sonar School, Key West, Florida.