Berthel Swensson (1918 - 1943)

Born 29 Sep 1918 in Berkeley, Alameda, California, United States

Died 1 Oct 1943 at age 25 in Austria

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Biography

Berthel Swensson was awarded the Silver Star Medal.

Berthel Swensson was awarded the Air Medal.

Berthel Swensson was awarded the Purple Heart.

1st Lieutenant Berthel Swensson served in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II
Service started: 31 Mar 1942
Unit(s): 67th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group, Ninth Air Force
Service ended: 1 Oct 1943

1st Lieutenant Berthel Swensson was Killed in Action over Austria on 1 Oct 1943 during World War II.

Berthel was born in 26 September 1918 in Berkley, California. He was the son of August Swensson and Julia Marie Olsen.

Berthel was the bombardier aboard the B24 Liberator bomber, Suzy Q (41-23817), participating in Operation Tidal Wave the low-level attack on the Romanian oil refineries at Ploesti on 1 August 1943. He was awarded a Silver Star for his contribution to the operation.^[1]

Berthel was Killed in Action on 1 October 1943 when the B24 Liberator bomber 42-41017 that he was the bombardier for was shot down on a mission to a Messerschmitt airframe plant in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.^[2]

Find A Grave: Memorial #56361193

• Residence (1920) - Berkeley, Alameda, California, United States.^[3]
• Residence (1930) - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States.^[4]
• Residence (1940) - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States.^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ The Hall of Valor Project - Berthel Swenson
2. ↑ Fields of Honor - Database - Swensson, Berthel
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH3X-3PW : 31 January 2021), Berthel Swenson in entry for August Swenson, 1920.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCVT-9XW : accessed 25 July 2021), Berthel Swensson in household of Julia Swensson, Los Angeles (Districts 0251-0500), Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 425, sheet 6A, line 32, family 155, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 148; FHL microfilm 2,339,883.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9H5-85H : 6 January 2021), Berthel Swensson in household of Julia Marie Swensson, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 60-1081, sheet 5A, line 18, family 95, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 379.

• American Air Museum in Britain- Berthel Swensson
• BOMBARDIERS GRADUATED AT TRAINING BASE, The San Bernardino County Sun, San Bernardino, California, 22 Nov 1942, Sun • Page 6
• Service Chatter, West Los Angeles Independent, West Los Angeles, California, 19 Nov 1943, Fri • Page 1
• National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for California, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 1769. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Ancestry Record 2238 #742568
• "United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8GF-W5Z : 5 December 2014), Berthel Swensson, enlisted 31 Mar 1942, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946," database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (AAD) (http://aad.archives.gov : National Archives and Records Administration, 2002); NARA NAID 1263923, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
• Cemetery Records, Records of the American Battle Monuments Commission, Arlington, VA. Ancestry.com. U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Ancestry Record 9170 #58620