Paul Olif Swendsen - World War II

Submitted by Frank Swendsen

Paul Olif Swendsen



Dad enlisted in the fall of 1940 and served in WW2 from 1941 to 1945, when he was honorably discharged.

Let me give you a brief look at the stress he was under during his time at war.

His job was to be a forward observer for an artillery unit. There were large diameter cannons (as I described in my military service) that could shoot 5-20 miles+ away from where they were located. Sometimes these were Navy destroyers if you were landing on a beach.

Somebody had to tell these gun operators if they were hitting the target.

That is what our dad did. He traveled with a squad of 4 and they would move forward many miles until they would spot the enemy. They would then tell the artillery crew where to shoot. He would watch where the rounds landed and then inform the artillery unit how to adjust their shots.

There was one small problem with this. As soon as the enemy started getting artillery landing on them, they knew somebody was watching them. They would assume the enemy (Dad) was at a higher elevation, and they would either shoot artillery or send troops to get them.

Life expectancy for forward observers was very low.

Dad survived almost 4 years doing this! How stressful was that?

He went through a spell of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) when he came back. Why wouldn’t he? It was called shell-shocked back then.

He told me one story where he and his squad were in the 2nd story of a building in a town directing the artillery. The Germans came into the building, but did not check the 2nd floor. His squad waited and American troops took the town hours later. He was pretty ecstatic at that point.

I always told dad that he was unnaturally lucky as he beat me regularly in cribbage. He laughed and continued to win.

Dad was part of the 3rd Infantry Division and was involved in landings in North Africa, Sicily Italy and France including the Anzio beachhead.

He was awarded the Bronze Star and the French Croix De Guerre.

I have the utmost respect for Dad’s service to our country and his recovery from the stress of his service.