Carl Swendsen - World War II

Carl Swendsen was my Mom's younger brother.


Here's a picture that he sent to his wife Mary Ellen.


Enlisted March 8, 1941 and received a medical discharge on August 25, l941.




He served at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Battery "B" 188th Field Artillery. His rank was Private, and his specialty was Motor Mechanic.

Henry Godskesen - World War II

Henry Godskesen, or "Hank" as everybody always called him, was my father's brother. Hank was born in Denmark, and came to the US around 1920.


He was drafted during World War II, and served in a construction batallion. He worked on the Alaska-Canada "AlCan" highway that was built to defend Alaska from Japanese invasion.

Date of Birth: April 5, 1901
Date of Death: July 11, 1989

Date of enlistment: March ??, 1942

Rank: Private

Link to Henry's Enlistment record in the National Archive

Notes:
*All of the records for Army Personnel discharged November 1, 1912, to January 1, 1960 were lost in a fire in 1973 in St. Louis. They reconstructed partial records from other sources, which is why this information is incomplete. To my great disappointment, none of the Swendsen men are in this database.

I have an album full of pictures Hank took while working the Alaska highway that I'll link to here when I get them scanned and uploaded.

Christian Martinus Swendsen - Danish Army; c1900-1903?

I believe this is is a picture of Christian, but might be his brother Oluf who also served. If you know, please contact me.


Chris and Albertine on their wedding day

Chris Gravesite information

Birth: Jan. 7, 1883, Denmark
Death: Jun. 26, 1966

Father: Peder Marinus Svendsen
Mother: Anna Elisa Mildrup Svendsen

Married to: Albertina Peterson
When: Jul. 26, 1905
Where: DeKalb, IL

Children: Frank, Elsie Godskesen, Glenn, Paul, Carl, Roy, Harry, Norma Nodolf, June Bailey

Chris was born in Skagen, Denmark. He served in the Danish Army and came to the US in the early 1900's. He proudly became a US citizen on Oct. 19, 1915.

Samuel Runnels - Civil War

I will have a lot more to add about Samuel, who is my wife's great-great grandfather. He fought with the Mississippi Infantry during the Civil War (or "the War of Northern Aggression" if you live south of the Mason-Dixon line).

Here's a picture of his great-great granddaughter at Gettysburg. I don't believe Sam was there, although his unit appears to have been. But he did fight at the battle of Richmond, where he was taken prisoner by the Federals, and paroled. We have a copy of his parole document, to be published here soon.

Welcome to the Swendsen, Godskesen and Runnels Family Military History Story

Welcome to our family history blog. This will be an ongoing project, and I plan to add a post for every member of the family who has served, or is serving. Please feel free to contact me to send updates, additions and corrections.

This forum is respectfully dedicated to the memory of the following people who are no longer with us, but did not hesitate to serve when their countries needed them:

My wife's Great-great-great-great grandfather:
Woody Jones - Served with Andrew Jackson in Louisiana, War of 1812
Her Great-great-great-great Uncle
Wiley Jones - Served with Andrew Jackson in Louisiana, War of 1812

My wife's great-great grandfathers:
Samuel Runnels - 39th Mississippi Infantry, Battle of Vicksburg †
Robert J. Jones - 4th Mississippi Cavalry †

My Great-Grandfather:
Christian Godskesen – Royal Danish Army, Second Schleswig War of 1864†

My wife's grandfather:
Alonzo Runnels - US Army, WWI †

My Grandfather:
Christian Martinus Swendsen – Royal Danish Army †

My Great-Uncle:
Oluf Swendsen – Royal Danish Army †

My Uncles:
Paul Swendsen - US Army forward artillery spotter - Europe, WWII †
Carl Swendsen - US Army, WWII †
Roy Swendsen - US Army Air Corp, South Pacific, WWII †
Henry Godskesen - US Army Engineering Corp, WWII †

My Father-In-Law:
Charlie Runnels - US Navy, Korea †

My cousin:
Harlan Roy Swendsen - US Navy, Vietnam †

My Brother-in-law:
Carlos Hernandez - US Army Huey Helicopter Crewman, Vietnam †

For all you did for us....we remember

And to those currently serving:

Karen, US Army, Medic, Iraq
Katy, North Dakota Army National Guard
Jason, US Navy, Corpsman, Okinawa

for all you are doing for us...we Thank You
-Rog