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Staff Sergeant Patricia Ann O’Brien Dawe

Head and shoulders candid photo of Patricia O'Brien wearing a corsage in her later years.
  • Unit: 9001st Administrative Appeals Unit, Women's Army Corps
  • Date of Birth: April 8, 1932
  • Entered the Military: December 7, 1950
  • Date of Death: February 15, 2019
  • Hometown: Concord, New Hampshire
  • Place of Death: Concord, New Hampshire
  • Award(s): National Defense Service Medal, the Army Reserve Commendation Medal with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf clusters, the Armed Forces Reserve Service Medal, and the Marksman Badge With Rifle
  • Cemetery: Section 11, Row CC, Site 502. New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery, Boscawen, New Hampshire
Contributed by Tabitha Arp, Alina Chausovsky, and Gabriel Landies
Mentored by Mrs. Sierra Dolce
Bedford High School
2024/2025

Early Life

Patricia Ann O’Brien was born in Concord, New Hampshire, on April 8, 1932. The only child of Francis, a stock handler, and Alice Buzzi O’Brien, a waitress. Patricia worked her way through St. John’s High School and enlisted in the military after high school graduation.

Three line excerpt from the 1940 census with demographic information about the O'Brien family.
Patricia O’Brien was born and raised in Concord, New Hampshire. 1940 U.S. Census, National Archives and Records Administration.
Short lined excerpt from the 1950 census with demographic information about the O'Brien family.
Patricia O’Brien was the only child of Francis and Alice O’Brien and joined the military shortly after her high school graduation. 1950 U.S. Census, National Archives and Records Administration.
Postcard showing downtown businesses titled "Main Street Concord."
Patricia O’Brien grew up in Concord, the capital city of New Hampshire. This postcard shows downtown Concord as it looked during her teenage years, c.1950. Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce.

Homefront

Concord, despite being the state capital, is neither the biggest nor the busiest city in New Hampshire. It is a mostly quiet, tight-knit community full of art and small businesses. It has little farmland, though there were and are still several poultry farms. 

The Concord community actively supported the war effort in the 1940s and 1950s during World War II and the Korean War. According to newspaper reports, Concord citizens made care packages and sent them off to the soldiers overseas. They also planted victory gardens, rationed, and purchased war bonds.

Concord also engaged in resource drives that aided the war effort. In 1942, Brown Paper Company salvaged 20 million pounds of scrap metal to aid Allied efforts in World War II. Children harvested milkweed pods and removed the silken material until they had achieved a substantial amount, the pile of which was shipped off to the military for use in parachutes, aviation jackets, and life jackets. The Concord Rotary Club collected 1,500 discarded keys in 1942, weighing just 31 pounds, and shipped them off to make military helmets. Additionally, students enrolled at Concord High School organized a scrap iron pile in front of the school where they collected many pounds of metal for the war effort. 

While no specific industry in Concord exclusively shifted its production to military purposes during the war period, the service of its children was vital to the war and cemented Concord as a patriotic city, happy to help with the resources it did possess. Today, in gratitude to their military service, Concord has a memorial near the New Hampshire State Capitol dedicated to Korean War Veterans, as well as Veterans from World War II and the Vietnam War.

Short newspaper article titled," 4-H Club to Collect Milkweed Pods."
Children throughout New Hampshire collected Milkweed Pods to aid the war effort. Portsmouth Herald, September 13, 1944.
Black and White photo students standing in front of a school with piles of metal scrap.
Concord citizens did their part to support the war effort, including Concord youth, shown here during a Concord High School scrap metal drive, c. 1944. Concord Monitor, January 28, 2024.
Photo of a military monument with a flag in the center and a horse statue in the rear left background.
This memorial in Concord, the capital city of New Hampshire, honors those who served, as well as makes special mention of those who perished while fighting in World War II, the Korean conflict, and the Vietnam War, 2017. Library of Congress (2017884885).

Military Experience

First Army Experience

Patricia O’Brien first enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army’s Women’s Army Corps on December 7, 1950, presumably shortly after graduating from high school. She received basic military training, as well as specialized training in Geneva-Hague Conventions, military justice, and the benefits of honorable discharge. After she completed training, O’Brien’s most significant assignment was with the 9001st Administrative Appeals Unit Women’s Army Corps Detachment in St. Louis, Missouri. She worked as an administrative clerk and desk typist, helping to keep the Army organized throughout the Korean War. Once the war was over, there were fewer military administrative tasks to manage, so she received an honorable discharge as a staff sergeant on December 7, 1953, three years after enlisting.

Foray Into The Coast Guard

A little over three years later, Dawe took a slightly different approach on her next venture into military service, choosing instead to enlist in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves (USCGR) on January 3, 1957. In the Coast Guard Reserves, she worked as an administrative specialist and clerk typist, and earned the rank of Yeoman First Class before her second military retirement in 1962. She completed training courses in personnel management, non-commissioned officer training, and word processing.

Later Service & Medals

For the final leg of her service journey, Dawe enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves (USAR) in 1975. There she worked as a unit clerk and a non-commissioned Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans in the U.S. Army (DCSOPS), while stationed at Massachusetts’s Hanscom Air Force Base. She completed her service in 1988, having earned many medals, including the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Reserve Commendation Medal with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf clusters, the Armed Forces Reserve Service Medal, and the Marksman Badge with Rifle.

Newspaper article titled, “Miss O’Brien Paid Farewell: Given Surprise Party on Eve of Enlisting WACs.”.
After enlisting in the Women’s Army Corps in 1950, Patricia O’Brien received training at Camp Lee, Virginia. Concord Monitor, December 13, 1950.
Patricia Ann O’Brien’s 1953 DD-214, detailing her active service in the Women’s Army Corps. Portions have been redacted for privacy reasons. National Archives and Records Administration.
Patricia Dawe’s recap of service worksheet, summarizing her service in the Women’s Army Corps, the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves, and the U.S. Army Reserves from 1951 to 1987. Portions have been redacted for privacy reasons. National Archives and Records Administration.

Veteran Experience

Though she devoted much of her adult life to military service, Dawe was hardly idle during her civilian life interludes. Beginning shortly after her first discharge in 1953, Dawe attended Concord Community College, where she graduated with a business secretarial degree in 1954. At various points in her early adulthood, she worked as a stenographer, telephone operator, and administrative assistant. 

On October 6, 1962, Patricia O’Brien married Boston-born David Jefferson Dawe. Together, they had a son, Francis, and a daughter, Shannon, before divorcing in 1968. 

Dawe went on to work at the New Hampshire State Department of Elderly and Adult Services for 26 years, where she served her state with pride.

Newspaper article titled, “Miss O’Brien Wed to Dawe.”
Patricia O’Brien met David Dawe in the Coast Guard, and they were married in 1962. Concord Monitor, October 9, 1962.
Document titled "Divorce Decree" pertaining to Patricia Dawe and her husband.
Pat and David Dawe’s marriage lasted six years and ended in divorce, 1968. State of New Hampshire.
Head and shoulders candid photo of Patricia O'Brien wearing a corsage in her later years.
A photograph of Patricia taken later in life. Concord Monitor, February 19, 2019.

Commemoration

Patricia Ann O’Brien Dawe passed away at the age of 86 in her hometown of Concord, New Hampshire, on February 15, 2019. She is buried at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen, New Hampshire.

Photo of light gravestone with a dark etched cross and the name, Patricia A. Dawe.
Patricia O’Brien Dawe is buried at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery. Find a Grave.
Students visit Patricia O’Brien Dawe’s grave at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery, March 8, 2025.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

“4-H Club to Collect Milkweed Pods.” The Portsmouth Herald [Portsmouth, NH], September 13, 1944. Newspapers.com (56543059).

“Miss O’Brien Paid Farewell: Given Surprise Party on Eve of Enlisting WACs.” Concord Monitor [Concord, NH], December 13, 1950. Newspapers.com (834883818).

“Miss O’Brien Wed to Dawe.” Concord Monitor [Concord, NH], October 9, 1962. Newspapers.com (835191864).

New Hampshire. Merrimack County. 1940 U.S. Census. Digital images. https://ancestryclasroom.com.

New Hampshire. Merrimack County. 1950 U.S. Census. Digital images. https://ancestryclasroom.com.

Patricia A. O’Brien. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995. Digital images. https://ancestryclasroom.com.

Patricia Ann O’Brien Dawe. DD-214. National Archives and Records Administration – St. Louis.

Patricia Ann O’Brien Dawe. Freedom of Information Act Request, Department of the Army and Department of the Coast Guard. National Archives and Records Administration – St. Louis.

Patricia Ann O’Brien Dawe. Official Military Personnel File (partial, redacted), Department of the Army and Department of the Coast Guard. National Archives and Records Administration – St. Louis.

“Patricia ‘Pat’ Ann Dawe. Concord Monitor [Concord, NH], February 15, 2019. Newspapers.com (914474784). 

Patricia Ann Dawe and David J. Dawe. New Hampshire Divorce Records, 1850-1969. Digital images. https://ancestryclasroom.com.

Patricia Ann O’Brien and David J. Dawe. New Hampshire Marriage Records, 1700-1971. Digital images. https://ancestryclasroom.com.

Secondary Sources

“Continuing Service: Changes – The WAC, 1946–1965.” U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center. Accessed April 30, 2025. https://www.armyheritage.org/soldier-stories-information/continuing-service-changes-the-wac-1946-1965/.

“Francis ‘Paddy’ O’Brien Dawe.” Concord Monitor [Concord, NH], January 28, 2021. Newspapers.com (916847890). 

Highsmith, Carol. The Memorial in Concord, the Capital City of New Hampshire, to Those Who Served, with Special Mention of Those Who Perished, Fighting for the United States in World War II, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam War. Photograph. September 17, 2017. Library of Congress (2017884885). https://www.loc.gov/item/2017884885/. 

“History of Concord, NH.” Concord, New Hampshire. Accessed December 2, 2024. https://www.concordnh.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14073/History-of-Concord?bidId=. 

Merrill, Lorraine. “100 Years of Farming in the State Capital.” Lancaster Farming, October 15,2011. https://www.lancasterfarming.com/100-years-of-farming-in-the-state-capital/article_95d07c95-139b-5cd2-8953-96e93a37679a.html. 

“Moving to Concord NH: Living in the Capital City.” Berkshire Hathaway Home Services. Blog. February 9, 2022. https://www.verani.com/view-blog/moving-to-concord-new-hampshire.  

New Hampshire. Map. 1998. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://cdn.britannica.com/97/2997-050-858763BB/New-Hampshire-map-MAP-locator-boundaries-cities.jpg. 

“New Hampshire.” Encyclopædia Britannica. https://school.eb.com/. 

“Patricia A. Dawe.” Veterans Legacy Memorial, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Accessed April 22, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/196971570/patricia-ann-dawe.

“Patricia ‘Pat’ Ann O’Brien Dawe.” Find A Grave. Updated February 19, 2019. Accessed April 22, 2025. https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/PATRICIAADAWE/962fd5.

“Population Pyramids of the World from 1950 to 2100.” PopulationPyramid.net. Accessed November 15, 2024. https://www.populationpyramid.net/united-states-of-america/1951/. 

Spain, James. “Vintage Views: The War Effort in Concord.” Concord-Monitor [Concord, NH], January 28, 2024. https://www.concordmonitor.com/Vintage-Views-The-War-Effort-in-Concord-53800368.

“Take a Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Concord, NH.” Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce. Accessed April 22, 2025. https://www.visitconcord-nh.com/blog/2018/12/19/take-a-walking-tour-of-historic-downtown-concord-nh.

This profile was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The opinions, findings, and conclusions stated herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.