tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83629510990169522952024-03-18T22:02:03.223-07:00Carrying FireDon Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-58053676019066039102020-03-01T14:24:00.001-08:002020-03-01T14:24:28.918-08:00<div class="clearfix" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; zoom: 1;">
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<span style="color: #666666;">75 years ago, on March 2, 1945, my father and his crew gave their lives when their B-17 was shot down and crashed near Slany, Czechoslovakia. They were members </span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #666666; display: inline;">of the 398th Bomb Group, 603rd </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: inherit;">Squadron. Ironically, that day was also my mother's 26th birthday and she was pregnant with my brother Steve. Mom passed away in 2005.</span></div>
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<div class="_5pcp _5lel _2jyu _232_" data-testid="story-subtitle" id="feed_subtitle_3955133214206:4:0" style="color: #616770; font-family: inherit; position: relative;">
<span class="f_1j55b2sjv5" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="fsm fwn fcg" style="color: #90949c; font-family: inherit;"><a class="_5pcq" href="https://www.facebook.com/don.christensen.5/posts/3955133214206" style="color: #616770; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;" target="">March 1, 2014</a></span></span></div>
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On March 2, we honor 398th Bomb Group pilot Lt. Donald R. Christensen and 7 of his B-17 crew members who gave their lives on this date in 1945. We also once again thank our Czech friends Jaromir Kohout, Jan Zdiarsky, and others for the fine memorial at Slany, Czech republic.</div>
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Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-85479090423601560412019-05-25T10:12:00.001-07:002019-05-25T10:12:46.670-07:00<span style="background-color: white; color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">COMBAT AMERICA - World War 2 B-17 Flying Fortress Documentary produced in Technicolor and narrated by Clark Gable</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif;">https://youtu.be/l81oEIEoCT4</span></span><br />
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<br />Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-15413487781958807052018-11-16T08:10:00.003-08:002018-11-16T08:10:22.244-08:00Media coverage<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">My father's story has been carried in Utah's <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900041458/utahns-project-honors-world-war-ii-fallen.html?fbclid%3DIwAR1apOzpvGbk8BST1YWlvPE5PtdqYjpGv-tLrvS2_dHI3OswzhAeNagD2Sk&source=gmail&ust=1542470881381000&usg=AFQjCNFoWm_mnU9RUsQPs2U8F645rB6QHQ" href="https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900041458/utahns-project-honors-world-war-ii-fallen.html?fbclid=IwAR1apOzpvGbk8BST1YWlvPE5PtdqYjpGv-tLrvS2_dHI3OswzhAeNagD2Sk" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">The Deseret News</a> as well as <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://kslnewsradio.com/1894242/utah-man-honors-fallen-world-war-two-vets-100th-birthdays/&source=gmail&ust=1542470881381000&usg=AFQjCNHsBsWQDPumLY2-AjPkPqN1YTiziQ" href="https://kslnewsradio.com/1894242/utah-man-honors-fallen-world-war-two-vets-100th-birthdays/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">KSL News Radio</a>.</i>Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-42541027741805498402017-09-03T06:12:00.000-07:002017-09-03T06:12:48.769-07:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">September 3, 1917-2017</span></div>
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This date, September 3, 2017, marks the 100th birthday of my father, B-17 pilot Lt. Donald R. Christensen. </div>
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Unfortunately, he only got to live about one-quarter of those 100 years. He was killed on March 2, 1945, at age 27, when his plane was shot down over Czechoslovakia. Only the tail gunner survived, and he spent the last two months of the war in Stalag 17. My father was part of the 398th Bomb Group, 603rd Squadron based in Nuthampstead, England. He was one of over 26,000 airmen of the Eighth Air Force in England who were killed during WWII.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> More airmen with the Eighth Air Force in England lost their lives during the war than the entire Marine Corps, whose enrollment included 250,000 more people. He is interred at Rose Hills Cemetery, Whittier, California.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaijhxddJ8pPrflhqmsi9n78OuMDrvrgqVas_kbRkjSxtJBg30tsE8IwvBXr9O5AvH5zswt7GKWuRy-is9m9qucy-TgjD5Q07C4tOlmq_vnm1HXPAgaLWFcTIC34zPhpbUKypT7HW7QeiR/s1600/1.+IMG_2551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaijhxddJ8pPrflhqmsi9n78OuMDrvrgqVas_kbRkjSxtJBg30tsE8IwvBXr9O5AvH5zswt7GKWuRy-is9m9qucy-TgjD5Q07C4tOlmq_vnm1HXPAgaLWFcTIC34zPhpbUKypT7HW7QeiR/s320/1.+IMG_2551.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">I was 2 1/2 years old when he was killed, and my brother Steve was born three months later. So we have lived for over 72 years with this loss and memory. In 1951 we received his posthumous medals at a ceremony in Long Beach, California.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPVf1GaaAd7ERYegf98XFte3jhPDjY5GoU9igiRMZuDaq-T4x7UljP7lMWUsDwbE3iGtCTCRLF7_mQ9ZOmWXNTp8J3AqVz1_2gaQAXKTSQd3Xb67ZXTD3_236brcXcqIzm4J8sTWwgcNmT/s1600/DRMemorial+Pics+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="462" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPVf1GaaAd7ERYegf98XFte3jhPDjY5GoU9igiRMZuDaq-T4x7UljP7lMWUsDwbE3iGtCTCRLF7_mQ9ZOmWXNTp8J3AqVz1_2gaQAXKTSQd3Xb67ZXTD3_236brcXcqIzm4J8sTWwgcNmT/s320/DRMemorial+Pics+004.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">Today, dozens of his descendants, covering four generations, pay honor to the service and memory of Donald R. Christensen.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgVA3pEWpdo8DAACHj_2Y-kLKJZEbthA21al7b3MwPtGvRFOmY9fEBDqBYi1E2cggfbg5GeTHHUel3ojQUFI03PtfowzxqejVaaunMo6M9MIrmU-Yz1d6BWFEgW8DGXUNcTlq6i_URnIa/s1600/2.+IMG_2546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgVA3pEWpdo8DAACHj_2Y-kLKJZEbthA21al7b3MwPtGvRFOmY9fEBDqBYi1E2cggfbg5GeTHHUel3ojQUFI03PtfowzxqejVaaunMo6M9MIrmU-Yz1d6BWFEgW8DGXUNcTlq6i_URnIa/s320/2.+IMG_2546.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Son Jeff tending grave site.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSg9RlrJC8l6c3qRoA_QwfDeSwCWAhR6JdD0ncAtJgBDlD_ETKtlUbZ5rZS46YhLiPTyN30INU_aD6xewzr_n4XItFEZYWRp0CA-JhJTqkueQCad_wCrPcXvLgnuKeByvU6ouNjqY2UD13/s1600/Nicole+at+grave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSg9RlrJC8l6c3qRoA_QwfDeSwCWAhR6JdD0ncAtJgBDlD_ETKtlUbZ5rZS46YhLiPTyN30INU_aD6xewzr_n4XItFEZYWRp0CA-JhJTqkueQCad_wCrPcXvLgnuKeByvU6ouNjqY2UD13/s320/Nicole+at+grave.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My granddaughter Nicole last Memorial Day.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;">People of the Czech Republic, including several friends of ours, were instrumental in erecting a beautiful memorial to him and his crew near the town of Slany, where his plane crashed. In 2010, Steve and my son Jeff and I returned to the Czech Republic and, with the aid of GPS and a metal detector, were able to find the crash site and recover several pieces of B-17 wreckage.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyML9A4JLWFGx3ipi4VDqiu5gyS9HICh9eKKwXomybIJ0ouNHGv8Geo27timlZYkPobTLuOMF90z7VmGGqrQIPM5m6ZyNhGM5DlrA3m-o8vvUFZEq8xDPSAMV8hQcEs1wRexXlNWr1u4DH/s1600/4.+My+Prague+Pix+1+039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1043" data-original-width="1600" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyML9A4JLWFGx3ipi4VDqiu5gyS9HICh9eKKwXomybIJ0ouNHGv8Geo27timlZYkPobTLuOMF90z7VmGGqrQIPM5m6ZyNhGM5DlrA3m-o8vvUFZEq8xDPSAMV8hQcEs1wRexXlNWr1u4DH/s320/4.+My+Prague+Pix+1+039.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1xNisT8piJOqn4o8LOrs6Uc_fM5IKyYRJI1NKVksrTJ09Re_BgwT7xLnuviYQ-jTw5qEjt9HFHJnI7euhH4OO6uPdshQvATxID-0dLm2L9b-VRGjQFC_vffKsqrenfIFFiRao6I31DyGT/s1600/5.+CIMG0179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1xNisT8piJOqn4o8LOrs6Uc_fM5IKyYRJI1NKVksrTJ09Re_BgwT7xLnuviYQ-jTw5qEjt9HFHJnI7euhH4OO6uPdshQvATxID-0dLm2L9b-VRGjQFC_vffKsqrenfIFFiRao6I31DyGT/s320/5.+CIMG0179.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">For another view of this historic day, check out Don Milne's blog at ww2fallen.blogspot.com</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-size: large;">On your 100th Birthday, rest easy Pops!</span></div>
Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-56647270678135144592017-03-04T10:03:00.000-08:002017-03-09T13:11:53.878-08:00<div align="center" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b>Slany, Czechoslovakia 1945</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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For more than a year and after their crippled plane disappeared into the clouds on March 2, 1945, the fate of the Don Christensen and his crew remained unknown to the American military and to the families back in the States.<br />
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After the war all former POWs were interrogated about their knowledge of those still missing in action. But when sole survivor Selmer Haakenson returned in June 1945, he reported, “I am unable to say what happened to the pilot, Second Lieutenant Donald R. Christensen. We received numerous hits from fighters and both 20mm and .50 cal. The interphones were shot out by the first burst received. The plane went into a left bank and the tail was shot completely off and I was unable to observe what happened to the other members of the crew as I received a shrapnel hit on the right side of my face which removed the vision in my right eye and very badly clouded the vision in my left eye. I bailed out from the tail at approximately two thousand feet into a low cloud bank and snow storm and was unable to see whether or not any other chutes opened. After I hit the ground I never saw any of the members of my crew again, or heard anything concerning their whereabouts.” [MACR #12853] <o:p></o:p></div>
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However, on that March 2, 1945, there were several Czech witnesses to the crash of the Christensen plane near the village of Kvic, two miles from the town of Slany, Czechoslovakia, about eighteen miles northwest of Prague. Frantisek Hrabanek, a nine-year-old boy at the time, recalls: “We were playing soccer and observing air strikes announced by sirens. Large units were flying over Slany. We saw an airplane fall into a spin. That airplane was flying at the very end of a large unit and it was quite visible. It was going down in some kind of spiral. We noticed it already at a high altitude…We knew it would crash pretty close. The guys said, ‘OK, let us run,’ and of course I was running with them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mr. Jiri Pruskavec, a resident of Kvic, remembers that a group of German soldiers were drilling nearby when the plane came down. “I was in the garden and heard fire in the skies. All of a sudden I saw an airplane missing its tail. It was falling like a leaf –spinning and its engines were roaring…Smoke was coming out of it. It crashed in a field not far from the airfield. I heard an explosion and saw a smoke cloud. The Germans were running up the hill and I was running behind them. Upon reaching the field’s edge flares started firing out of the airplane and cartridges were exploding. The Germans dropped to the ground and so did I. After that the Germans gradually continued forward and dropped to the ground anytime something exploded. Then they pulled out a parachute from the wreckage, returned to the field’s edge, and cut the parachute in pieces. When they left I was able to get closer to the airplane. Its wreckage was spread within 50 meters. Approximately 30 people came to see the airplane. Later on Germans came from Slany and guarded the crash site.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Young Frantisek Hrabanek and his soccer-playing friends soon arrived at the crash site: “We were watching from distance of 30-40 meters. The Germans came from the airfield in some type of truck, formed an approach formation, and pushed us farther away. Then they were pulling flyers out of the airplane. It was not much damaged. The fuselage was only slightly damaged. It looked like it landed flat.” They watched as German soldiers stripped the dead American flyers of their fine insulated boots and silk parachutes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Meanwhile, tail gunner Haakenson, after being seriously wounded and trapped in the falling tail, was finally able to parachute out of the tail section. “The rear part fell into a spin and since it was subject to huge forces, I was not able to jump out. It stopped at 2000 feet; therefore I dropped my flak vest, attached the parachute and jumped out through the rear door.” He was blown by winds and came down several miles east of the crash site, near the village of Olsany. “I was fighting the parachute until it opened, and then I landed in a small town. For some time I was unable to see anything with my left eye [He had already been blinded in his right eye during the attack]. Three local men handed me over to the Germans. After examination they transported me to a hospital. They x-rayed me and operated on me. I lost my right eye. I had no idea where I was until some English-speaking German told me they had seen an airplane going down not far from them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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A Mrs. Vorechovsky witnessed Haakenson’s descent. “I saw it from my garden. They shot at him as he was coming down.” Her son Jindrich added, “I remember there was a snowstorm and my mother and father were outside. That parachute was going down very fast and hit the ground close to the Novak’s. When I got there, a protectorate policeman was already there. I saw a door opening to the yard and I noticed a parachute covered with blood. Then I learned that they had taken the flyer to the hospital in Slany.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Haakenson continues: “I stayed there for seven days and then they brought me to the Stalig 17B prison. I stayed there until our liberation on 8 May 1945. On 17 June 1945, I returned to the United States of America.” [On 8 April 1945, 4000 of the POWs at Stalag 17B began an 18-day forced march of 281 miles to Braunau, Austria. On May 3, they were liberated by part of the 13th Armored Division of Patton’s 3rd Army. The remaining 900 men at Stalag 17B, including Selmer Haakenson, who were too ill to make the march, were left behind in the hospital. These men were liberated on 9 May 1945 by the Russians<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">.]</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Within a day of the crash, the bodies of Don Christensen and the rest of his crew were brought to the Slany cemetery. The Germans were prepared to dig a mass earthen grave at the crash site and shove the bodies in and cover them up, but due to protests by the International Red Cross and local Czech citizens the Americans were brought to the cemetery in Slany and buried with military honors, although still in two mass graves and in the German section of the cemetery. This event was witnessed by many citizens of Slany who came to honor the American airmen. The following day the graves were covered with flowers, much to the displeasure of the Gestapo. Three local women were arrested and imprisoned at Terezin concentration camp for that offense. During the month of March, Germans removed most of the wreckage of the plane by truck. <o:p></o:p><br />
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The bodies of the crew remained unidentified at this point since the Germans had taken everything at the crash site including their dog tags.</div>
Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-33003195217270683282016-11-17T10:24:00.001-08:002016-11-17T10:24:43.522-08:00Vera Lynn, "We'll Meet Again." A popular WWII song and also the ending of "Dr. Strangelove."<br />
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https://youtu.be/cHcunREYzNYDon Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-40678687441481163162016-08-15T13:29:00.001-07:002016-08-15T13:29:02.095-07:00<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_1i" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.38; overflow: hidden;">
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Newly found photo of my dad (in cap) along with John Daniels at Basic Pilot Training, Minter Field near Bakersfield, CA. This was sent to me by Daniels grandson, Kort Nyland. Thanks, Kort. The second photo shows my dad at upper left and John Daniels at lower right.</div>
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Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-56009288057475550632015-08-06T09:53:00.001-07:002015-08-06T09:53:00.553-07:00<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.38; overflow: hidden;">
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Some grainy 8 mm film narrated by the man who shot it during 1944-45. Good views of an 8th AF base. planes in flight, and the English countryside. 52 minutes long and worth it for those who are interested in these matters.</div>
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Harley Russel Stroven 1st LT, Armaments Officer, USAAF, 8th Air Force, 486th Bomb Group, 835th Bomb Squadron, Sudbury, England, Station 174. Harley R. Strove...</div>
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Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-71509120817331986622015-08-05T15:32:00.001-07:002015-08-05T15:32:01.295-07:00P-51 Mustangs. .What a great plane! My favorite model as a kid.<br />
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https://www.warhistoryonline.com/whotube-2/p-51-mustangs-in-the-air.htmlDon Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-2997859805585743762015-06-13T12:01:00.001-07:002015-06-13T12:11:47.869-07:00Another 70 year search pays off.<br />
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<a href="http://www.thelocal.de/20150609/us-ww2-pilot-fate-uncovered-by-german-war-crime-witness">http://www.thelocal.de/20150609/us-ww2-pilot-fate-uncovered-by-german-war-crime-witness</a>Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-82646743848252810402015-05-26T10:24:00.002-07:002015-05-26T10:24:52.472-07:00Memorial Day 2015. Granddaughter Nicole decorating her<br />
Great-Grandfather's grave.<br />
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<br />Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-63423528543310402102015-05-01T10:31:00.001-07:002015-05-01T10:34:00.654-07:00Battle Stations B17 Flying Fortress44 minutes long and a good view of B-17 history and experience of the crews.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oMj3W5vjNiw" width="459"></iframe>Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-61824774928378351582015-04-16T15:38:00.004-07:002015-04-16T15:38:39.939-07:00A great Before and After photo of part of Nuthampstead air base.<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10206063054840535&set=gm.10152815986687671&type=1&theater">https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10206063054840535&set=gm.10152815986687671&type=1&theater</a>Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-22633220154709592232015-04-16T15:35:00.001-07:002015-04-16T15:35:44.837-07:00Air bases in England during WWII.<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=963259353686720&set=gm.10152819952762671&type=1&theater">https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=963259353686720&set=gm.10152819952762671&type=1&theater</a>Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-11735448662404139782015-04-10T11:45:00.003-07:002015-04-10T11:47:45.480-07:00Interesting footage from a WWII B-17 base.<br />
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<a href="http://www.warhistoryonline.com/whotube-2/crashed-b17s-at-halesworth-airfield-england-1943-nr-thorpe-abbotts.html">http://www.warhistoryonline.com/whotube-2/crashed-b17s-at-halesworth-airfield-england-1943-nr-thorpe-abbotts.html</a>Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-16821149289314149712015-03-30T13:20:00.004-07:002015-03-30T13:20:42.821-07:00In case you'd forgotten how good the Andrews Sisters were.<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qafnJ6mRbgk&feature=share">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qafnJ6mRbgk&feature=share</a>Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-54690284827466135272015-03-24T13:00:00.001-07:002015-03-24T13:00:08.314-07:00<img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/p180x540/10441438_10200341544018662_7698292230540792575_n.jpg?oh=0c8ac4a0ed35a419913eecaf0c8f37f3&oe=55AB6315&__gda__=1437139630_8b74d7beb272bac7ba94fd2b6f67533a" /><br />
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David Walker's painting. Check him out on Facebook.Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-80910534892015386222015-03-22T11:25:00.002-07:002015-03-22T13:32:40.089-07:00A fine piece from the Czech Republic using some photos and description from this blog and adding more of his own. You will probably need to translate to English.<br />
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Click here.<a href="http://www.usmilitary.estranky.cz/clanky/sestreleni-b-17--2.3.-1945-slany-.html">http://www.usmilitary.estranky.cz/clanky/sestreleni-b-17--2.3.-1945-slany-.html</a>Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-31065744304896632512015-03-17T13:23:00.001-07:002017-03-24T08:37:03.519-07:00Posthumous Medals, 1951<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">In June, 1947, shortly after receiving word that Don’s body had been found and moved to St. Avold Cemetery in France but was still unidentified, my mother got a letter informing her that she would shortly receive his Purple Heart posthumously. In part the letter read: “It is sent to you as a tangible expression of the country’s gratitude for his gallantry and devotion. The loss of a loved one is beyond man’s repairing. And the medal is of slight value; not so, however, the message it carries. Have all been comrades in arms in the battle for our country, and those who have gone are not, and never will be forgotten by those of us who remain. I hope you will accept the medal in evidence of such remembrance.”<br /><br />I was almost five years old and ready to start school that September, and I remember my mother showing me the medal and telling me it would be mine when I got older, but that she would keep it safely in the meantime.<br /><br />In January of 1950, she received word that his body had been identified and the Army was awaiting disposition instruction as to what to do with the remains. As I explained in the <a href="http://carryingfire.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-christensen-crew-is-found.html">last chapter</a>, because Jocile had just remarried the month before, that right of disposition passed to Don’s mother who elected to have him returned to California. Actually, I was the next-of-kin, but because I was a minor I was not consulted.<br /><br />Then in January 1951, when I was eight years old, we got word that as next-of-kin I would be receiving my father's Air Medal at a ceremony on January 26, at the Douglas Aircraft plant in Long Beach, which had produced B-17s as well as other aircraft during the war. We had driven past that location several times since it was on Lakewood Blvd. which ran down to the beach and the amusement park known as “The Pike.” </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br />On the morning of the ceremony, my mother made sure I was dressed appropriately as if we were going to church. I was quite anxious and nervous in anticipation of what the day would bring. My mother and step-father Rulon and my five-year-old brother Steve drove down to Long Beach on a gray, gloomy morning. The grayness only added to my anxiety. <br /><br />When we arrived the area was already crowded with airmen in uniform with their families and several photographers and reporters. Apparently many WWII airmen were also receiving medals and commendations that day. When the time came for assembly I stood in father’s place in the front row of the ranks among uniformed men who all looked huge next to an eight-year-old boy. While standing there I was almost sure there had been some mistake, that my father was not dead and would appear and would pick me up and tell me everything was alright. Perhaps he had been wounded and was on crutches but that was still okay. <br /><br />I had just seen a movie called “Three Came Home,” with Claudette Colbert about a family in the Philippines separated by war. The mother and son and other women and children were kept in one camp while all the men were taken somewhere else. Near the end the war the Japanese captors fled before the advancing American forces and all the women and children gathered on the road to greet their returning husbands and fathers. The men began coming over the hill and rushing down to greet their families, but there is no sign of Claudette’s husband. Just as she and the son were about to turn away in sorrow the husband finally appears over the crest of the hill on crutches barely able to walk. He rushes toward his family but falls in the dusty road. The mother and son rush to help him, and the family is together once more. <br /><br />I am not sure that particular film was on my mind that morning, but I was hoping for a similar ending. <br /><br />As the ceremony began a ranking officer came down the line presenting medals and ribbons to the assembled airmen and exchanging salutes with each one. It was a rather somber event with serious looks on all faces. When he came to me he had to bend down to pin the Air Medal on me, then he stood and saluted and I didn’t know what to do except salute back, then he smiled and shook my hand. I noticed that the airmen on either side of me were smiling too. <br /><br />When the ceremony was completed and before all the men were dismissed they called me forward for a photograph and my brother Steve joined me. Even today the looks on the faces of those little boys speak volumes and my heart goes out to them over all the years. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b> <b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblaoslxXeG4aaKGpN6BdzFMQ-yxbIzQOxWmmH7g1_3tN9n-qv7Rq-tlSqFqAQYO5LockwETjomn8eGifIhO1Q2Jzl1InbguSfilhvUc_HpQRrYxurXZoUFuSC9h4utf6W6FlE96Zlch-S/s1600/DRMemorial+Pics+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblaoslxXeG4aaKGpN6BdzFMQ-yxbIzQOxWmmH7g1_3tN9n-qv7Rq-tlSqFqAQYO5LockwETjomn8eGifIhO1Q2Jzl1InbguSfilhvUc_HpQRrYxurXZoUFuSC9h4utf6W6FlE96Zlch-S/s1600/DRMemorial+Pics+004.jpg" width="492" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />My father had not appeared as I had hoped and I had to finally accept that he was not coming back, though it was a bitter pill to swallow. I don’t think that Steve had the same conflicted emotions since he was born after our father was killed and he had no memories of him. Rulon was the only father he had known and fully accepted. It took me a while longer to shift allegiances but in time I came to love Rulon Neilson for the fine, decent and kind man that he was. From the beginning he called us “his boys” and we called him Dad. He shared his love of the outdoors with us, taught us to shoot and took us camping and hunting and fishing. I also learned how to work on cars and other machinery from him: skills that have served me well through the years. <br /><br />Sometime after that June morning, my mother approached me asked me since I now had two medals, the Air Medal and the Purple Heart, if I would like to share one with my brother. Since the Air Medal had been ceremoniously presented to me I chose it and let Steve have the Purple Heart. From an eight-year-old boy’s perspective the Air Medal with its sunburst design and with a diving eagle with lightning bolts in its talons was more romantic, plus at that age I did not appreciate the value of the Purple Heart. To this day we are each proud keepers of these medals of our father’s valor.</span></b><br />
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Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-5814327922827987162015-03-13T11:00:00.000-07:002015-03-31T11:40:13.229-07:00The Crew Is Found And The Four burials of Lt. Don Christensen<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">American Graves Registration Service At Work</span></b></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">After the war, units of the American Grave Registration Service diligently searched throughout Europe for the remains of US servicemen and did their best to identify them and return them to American soil. They interviewed returning POWs for information regarding missing servicemen, and they talked with mayors and residents of towns expending any effort to locate and identify MIAs.<br /><br />On July 3, 1946, the Czech State Police Station reported to Graves Registration, "Eight Anglo-American airmen are buried in the military cemetery, section 4. They were shot down over Slany on 2 March, 1945, in air combat. The airmen were buried on 4 March, 1945, in the German section, therefore they were exhumed on 24 May, 1945, and buried again in grave numbers 17-18-19-20. It was impossible to find out the names of the airmen as the plane crashed in the vicinity of the German training camp. The German soldiers got to the plane and robbed the dead airmen in a most cruel manner of all their property and documents.”<br /><br />There conflicting reports about whether or not their dog tags were buried with the crew. One story is that the dog tags were thrown into the grave in a bunch, while another says that the Germans took everything including the dog tags. Regardless, one Czech citizen had written down the serial number from the tail of the plane where it fell a few miles away from the rest of the wreckage so at least the names of the crew could be identified. The bodies of Don Christensen and his crew were buried two in each of the four graves, still with only mattress covers for coffins. It turned out that Don and his co-pilot William Love were in the same grave, but that would not be known until identification was made through dental records in 1950.<br /><br />In late July, Graves Registration requested permission to exhume the bodies of the airmen and on August 2, this was granted by Czech officials. On August 6, 1946, the remains of the Christensen crew were exhumed from the Slany cemetery and transported to the U.S. military cemetery at St. Avold, France. This solemn event was much celebrated by the people of Slany. Mr. Jurka Rus, newspaper editor and elementary school principal, wrote:<br /><br />“There was a large thunderstorm that day. The bodies were placed into new coffins under the supervision of county physician Dr. Josef Novotny. Other present parties included the honor company of the Czechoslovak police from Slany, local police, the Military Union, legionnaires, Sokol, boy scouts, firefighters, Samaritan squads, the County social assistance, representatives of the Czech-American Club, and plenty of other visitors…The members of the Military Union carried the coffins from the cemetery’s ceremonial room to prepared American cars. The coffins were covered with American flags. Beautiful wreaths were carried in front of the cars. Present were Ms. Kubikova, Ms. Vykanska, and Ms. Petrzilkova [the women imprisoned at Terezin for putting flowers on the graves] who suffered so much for their sympathies with our allies. Bells were ringing as the mourning [convoy] was moving slowly through the town among numerous local people. Plenty of them were laying wreaths on slowly moving vehicles. Lots of people were escorting their beloved heroes up to the former chemical plant where the last goodbye on behalf of the town’s citizens was said by the chairman of the local government office, Mr. Ant Hejduk. An American officer, moved by so much reverent attention, asked a Czechoslovak captain to interpret warm thanks from the U.S. Army and the Republic for so much love and gratitude expressed to their soldiers. The famous heroes were transported to a joint cemetery of American soldiers close to Paris.”</span></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Lorraine American Cemetery At St. Avold</span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b></b><b><br />At St. Avold the US Medical Officer reported that the bodies, which had lain unprotected in the ground for a year and half, were badly mangled and could not be separated. In addition, the bodies had been badly burned when their plane crashed and caught on fire and were devoid of flesh so no fingerprints could be taken and only a few bones, mandibles and teeth were not fractured or burned. They were then reburied in graves marked "unknown" under various X numbers. The grim findings about the mangled, flesh-less bodies of the crew were never communicated to their families of the crew and I only discovered this information in my father's Individual Death Personnel File (IDPF).</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Nine months later, on April 7, 1947, Jocile was notified by the War Department that the bodies of Don and his crew had been had been found at Slany, Czechoslovakia, and his status had been changed from presumptive finding of death to actual finding of death. No other information was forthcoming at that time.</span></b><br />
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Then on June 10, 1947, Jocile received another letter from the War Department: "With deep regret you must be informed that, although the records of this office discloses that his remains were properly interred in a manner befitting our honored dead, due to the manner in which he met his death it has not yet been possible to individually identify his remains or those of others of his crew. The remains of this crew were interred as a group in the U.S. Military Cemetery St. Avold, located twenty-three miles east of Metz, France."</span></b><br />
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"Please be assured that the Grave Registration Service exhausts every available clue which might lead to the individual identification of our deceased Military Personnel. If further research fails to establish individual identity, the remains of this group will be returned to the United States for final interment in a National Cemetery designated by the Quartermaster General." </span></b><br />
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Years later my mother recalled, "He was declared legally dead on March 3, 1946 and a year later they said they had found the graves in Czechoslovakia and that all of them had been put in two graves and they couldn't make positive identification so they were put in a military cemetery in France."</span></b><br />
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On January 11, 1950, Jocile received further word from the Department of the Army that Don's remains had been positively identified through dental records. </span></b><br />
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"According to our records, the identification of these remains was established by favorable comparison of the tooth chart made for the deceased with information maintained in Army dental records for your husband.The remains have now been casketed and are being held above ground storage pending disposition instructions from the next of kin, either for return to the United States or for permanent burial in an overseas cemetery."</span></b><br />
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"There are enclosed informational pamphlets regarding the Return of World War II Dead Program, including a disposition form on which you may indicate your desires in this matter."</span></b><br />
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Ironically, Jocile had remarried my step-father Rulon Neilson one month earlier in December 1949, and therefore lost the right to decide the disposition of my father's remains. That right then passed to his mother and my grandmother, Annice Christensen who wanted her boy brought home. Jocile was opposed to this decision but had no more say in the matter, as she explains:</span></b><br />
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"I had lost the right to sign so his mother signed to have him brought home. I was opposed to bringing him home because I knew how he felt about it because he said the body meant nothing to him and he didn't like money spent on funerals and things but that is what the family wanted so that is what they did. He is buried at Rose Hills Cemetery in Whittier, California. His father was buried there and they left a space for his mother so Don is buried by his parents in Rose Hills."</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXUwTf3ceN0FCsy39PgOHbReZk-jWdv-GHKb9AibqTkrN4YPAA6yFR-K5r6gmNdCwa-GOkD5w1r8AqJ0OkSYFeXc3gkok6HuuRzQly9QOErAR9jjU-3M5DdVzN9wmObapMaEJuPruq7Ev/s1600/8.+Christensen+Czech+Memorial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXUwTf3ceN0FCsy39PgOHbReZk-jWdv-GHKb9AibqTkrN4YPAA6yFR-K5r6gmNdCwa-GOkD5w1r8AqJ0OkSYFeXc3gkok6HuuRzQly9QOErAR9jjU-3M5DdVzN9wmObapMaEJuPruq7Ev/s1600/8.+Christensen+Czech+Memorial.jpg" height="428" width="640" /></span></b></a></div>
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Don's next oldest brother Harry was a mortician in Long Beach and took care of all the arrangements for receiving his remains in July 1950 and transporting them to the cemetery for a closed casket grave-side service. The military supplied a simple stone marker for the grave. Jocile and Rulon attended this service and she wrote, "How many women have the experience of going to bury one husband with another husband?"</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">My father was re-buried with full military honors in a full size coffin. No one knew, except perhaps for Harry the mortician, that the coffin contained only a few unbroken bones, a mandible and some teeth. For many years I imagined that his whole body in dress uniform was buried there. Only recently did I obtain his IDPF which explained the true story.</span></b><br />
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All of the rest of the crew was also returned to the United States with the exception of waist gunner Kenneth Plantz who remains at St Avold. </span></b><br />
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From what I've seen of American Military Cemeteries in Europe I have to agree with my mother that one of them would have been a better resting place for my father among his comrades than alone in California. Somehow at military cemeteries in England, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, Europeans seem to honor our WWII dead better than we do in this country. Of course we have fine facilities at Arlington and the WWII Memorial in Washington D.C., and others, but the dedication and care displayed by volunteers and citizens in Europe is truly impressive.</span></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Cambridge American Military Cemetery</span></b></td></tr>
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As it is, almost no one in the Christensen family lives in Southern California any longer and the graves of my father and his parents are seldom visited or tended properly, except by my son Jeff.</span></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Jeff Tending Grave, Rose Hills, </span></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b>California</b></span></td></tr>
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Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-91469254040944701132015-03-12T13:22:00.000-07:002015-03-12T13:22:06.179-07:00Great photos of women at war.<br />
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http://www.thevintagenews.com/2015/03/10/gorgeous-coloured-images-of-women-at-war/Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-47789119335583066392015-03-09T12:52:00.001-07:002015-03-09T12:52:29.294-07:00B-17 Flying Fortress Attacked by Me-109s<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yt8qCoPQR6M" width="480"></iframe>Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-72281993568266647692015-03-09T09:04:00.000-07:002015-03-14T09:00:38.994-07:00The Home Front<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">On March 19, 1945, 2 ½ weeks after Don’s plane was shot down, my mother Jocile received the telegram that all military families dreaded. Unfortunately, this was far from a rare occurrence during the war. In the Eighth Air Force alone over 45,000 Missing In Action telegrams were sent for the 26,000 men killed and the 21,000 who later proved to be prisoners of war. But for each family this was an intensely personal and private moment of shock and grief.<br /><br />Jocile came from a large English-Swiss family that had known much tragedy and heartbreak over the years and tended to be stoic and display little outward or public emotion. When the telegram arrived she read it, handed it to her parents, then went into her room and shut the door and remained there for two days. She also refused to go to church for several weeks because she did not want the attention and sympathy she had seen so many other sobbing war wives receive. She once told my first wife Susan that she cried so much during those two days in her room that she had no tears left. In fact I don't remember her crying again, except perhaps in frustration over her rowdy children. When her second husband, my step-father Rulon Neilson, died I remember her showing no emotion at the funeral or grave site.<br /><br />But this was another story that was played out over and over during the war. A young wife and mother, six months pregnant, living on $50 a month Army pay, learns from a telegram that her husband is missing and may be dead. Years later she wrote: “On March 19, 1945 came that dreaded telegram from the War Department informing us that Don’s plane had been shot down over Germany on March 2nd – my 24th birthday. Even though this is something you had to be prepared for in war time, it was a shock to all of us. We kept our hopes up for a time. It was obvious we were nearing the end of the war and we thought we would hear something soon.” <br /><br />Local news media, along with the Los Angeles Police department were also notified. The following article appeared in the Santa Monica Oulook, March 23, 1945.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">California Intermountain News reported, Friday, March 30, 1945.<br /><br />"Missing in action is Lieutenant Donald Christensen, husband of Jocile Ursenbach Christensen. Word reached his family March 19 that he had been missing since March 2 when the B-17 which he piloted failed to return from a mission in Germany. He has been overseas for two months and was based in England. Don served as a missionary in Denmark when war broke out in Europe and was among the missionaries evacuated. He finished his mission in the East Central States. After entering the air corps almost two years ago, Don took his training in Texas, New Mexico, Utah, California, and Iowa. His wife and baby son, Donnie, were with him during the time he was stationed in Iowa."</span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;"> <br /><br /> The Los Angeles Police department included the following in their radio broadcast on March 20:<br /><br />"Word has been received that Officer Donald R. Christensen, a lieutenant in the army, on military leave from this department, has been reported missing in action in the European Theater. He formerly worked at University Division and is brother of Detective L. E. Christensen, Commander of West Los Angeles Detective Division."<br /><br /> Paul E. Harrison, Captain<br />Los Angeles Police Department<br /><br />When my father left for England my mother and I lived with my Grandpa and Grandma Ursenbach on 70th Street in Los Angeles. Grandpa who was something of a writer and poet wrote a poem called "Missing In Action" which contained the following verse:</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">"A pilot missing with his crew somewhere</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"> While hearts at home torn with profound suspense</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"> Raise daily prayers that Divine Providence</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"> May keep them safe in God's protecting care"<br /><br />Over the next several months there was much correspondence between Jocile and the War Department, the Army Air Force, and with the families of the other crewmen. By late April she received a summary of the Group Commander’s report for March 2, reiterating that Don’s plane had been </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">disabled and </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">attacked and was last seen disappearing into the 10,000 foot cloud cover below, but nothing was yet known about the fate of the crew. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">A May 11 letter from waist gunner Kenneth Plantz’ mother in Minneapolis, mentions news of surviving tail gunner Selmer Haakenson: “I just talked to Mrs. Haakenson long distance and learned that she had received word thru the Red Cross, War Department, and directly from Selmer that he was safe in France and would be home soon. No mention of the other crew members.” There was still some hope that Don and the others were also alive and had been held in some POW camp.<br /><br />Shortly after V-E Day, when censorship of letters was eased by the military, Don's nineteen-year-old navigator Lawson Ridgeway sent this letter from Nuthampstead:<br /><br />May 13 – England<br /><br /> Dear Jo,<br /> I’ve thought about writing this letter very many times and have tried, but it’s very difficult to get one through the censor office, and I keep getting them back. Now with the end of the war restrictions have been lifted somewhat and this one should go thru. Before, we over here were forbidden to mention or to give any information at all concerning those that are reported missing. I hope when you read this letter it sounds encouraging for I do feel that way and I was glad to hear that you also have not lost your faith.<br /><br /> Chris and his crew, on March 2, after enemy opposition over Chemnitz, Germany, had trouble with the ship. The damage was such that the ship wouldn’t stay in flight but it did seem operational enough to allow everybody time to bail out, especially at such a high altitude as they were. Because of the clouds directly below we couldn’t view them get out but I feel certain they did. If they were POW’s I feel also certain that they are alright now. Being a war prisoner isn’t as bad as it sounds. I know that’s hard for you to believe after reading about Buchenwald and such horror camps—but such camps as those don’t apply to army prisoners. Those camps are mostly political and concentration camps. The story is much different for the army and especially the air corps.<br /><br /> I wasn’t surprised to hear that you hadn’t received any further details. I’m sure they don’t give any—or very little—so don’t be alarmed as the situation was over here for the past six months with such great advances the Germans were in a state of confusion moving their prisoners about and very few and mixed up records were kept. As a result, very little detailed word is received concerning the boys that are prisoners. No word has been received at this base in 7 months.<br /><br /> It’s quite possible that you will receive further information before this base receives it, so I wish you would please write me as soon as you are notified, for I as well as all the men Chris was in contact with are anxious over his condition. Wherever he is now I know he wants you to be brave and strong now so lil’ Donnie the second will be born brave and strong like his father.<br /><br /> All my best wishes and prayers go with you for your prayers to be answered. Always a friend—whenever I may help you in any way please remember me. I hope I shall have a chance to pay you and Donnie a visit soon<br /><br /> Very Sincerely,<br />Ridge<br /><br />And soon after returning home from Europe, tail gunner Haakenson also wrote to Jocile:<br /><br /> June 29, 1945<br />Dear Mrs. Christensen,<br /><br /> I’m sure grateful that I’m back in the States and able to write you a letter personally but I regret that I’m not able to furnish you the information you’d like most. You see I was in the tail assembly when that section was shot off, so I don’t know what happened to the rest of the plane. I was shot up a little in the head; in fact I lost an eye. I can be thankful I didn’t get hurt worse, and I sure hope the rest of the crew is alright and will hear from them soon. I did not see any of them in prison camp and I tried to check up on them in France but they seemed to know nothing.<br /><br /> Of course you’ll be the first one notified in case they are found. And by the way the tail was shot off before the ship went into evasive action, so I think they had a good chance of getting out.<br /><br /> Well it’s all the news I have and I sure hope we hear something soon. I’m just as anxious as anyone to see them back. We’ll hope and pray together that they return safe soon.<br /><br /> Sincerely yours,<br />“Sam” Haakenson<br /><br /><br />Throughout the year Jocile continued to write and receive communicattions from various military and government officials seeking information and receiving assurances that everything that could be done was being done to locate her husband and all other missing airmen and soldiers. A letter from August 1, 1945 is typical:</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdv4voiIhyphenhyphenyO6IDtqufh5Jbq4TMAvswRMYvD-Q7dfIFbcReRT62CjV51u9F3uVL20CoomRV-LO3WlnubTc9oBqY7sjXF4E0VwysFmHMb4Du5auISXM1w9tw51SYx8gVCH-RDbKu8g4Yxc/s1600/img077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdv4voiIhyphenhyphenyO6IDtqufh5Jbq4TMAvswRMYvD-Q7dfIFbcReRT62CjV51u9F3uVL20CoomRV-LO3WlnubTc9oBqY7sjXF4E0VwysFmHMb4Du5auISXM1w9tw51SYx8gVCH-RDbKu8g4Yxc/s1600/img077.jpg" height="640" width="546" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><br />But as months passed, hope of finding anyone alive faded. Years later Jocile wrote that she came to her own conclusion and resignation by June: “I kept my hopes alive until Steve was born, June 12, 1945. As I came out of the ether following his birth I told the doctor that Don was not coming back, but that was how it was supposed to be. The doctor said, “Yes I know. You have been talking to him.” I have no recollection of anything like that, but what I did have was a calm, serene feeling that all was well. I knew I had two boys to raise alone. Don and his crew were kept on the missing in action rolls for a year and declared legally dead on March 3, 1946.”<br /><br />On that March 3, 1946, Jocile received a letter from the War Department stating that Don's status was changed from missing in action to a presumptive finding of death, and for "the termination of pay and allowances, settlement of accounts and payment of death gratuities. I regret the necessity for this message but trust that the ending of a long period of uncertainty may give at least some small measure of consolation."</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">There was still no word or knowledge of the fate of Don Christensen and his crew. At he same time units of the American Grave Registration Service were still diligently searching throughout Europe and the Pacific for the remains of US servicemen and doing their best to identify them and return them to American soil or to a military cemetery .</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Since Don was a police officer on military leave at the time of his death, Jocile soon received official recognition and condolences from the city of Los Angeles and the LAPD. Mayor Fletcher Bowron sent a letter of sympathy, and concluded, “A grateful community will forever honor your husband for his supreme sacrifice on the altar of freedom.”</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br />On March 28, 1946, the Los Angeles City Council concluded their regular business by standing in “silent and final tribute to their associate, 1st Lieutenant Donald R. Christensen.” They then passed a resolution expressing their shared sorrow and regret with the family at his untimely death. Their resolution included the following lofty language altogether fitting and proper for that time:</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga5ogmmEcZl9VXS5v_g1OmyRayJXfYqn0DFhlNdvQ1frsCDzgw7tdDDSymZA3V-P2Gu-FxluX0jBpjjshAlCKQ3cKEZAPAvgErUnLlqy9KMJvRsYxAoeOUrWvn0Ipoz6cXZJkGgZOHaNja/s1600/img080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga5ogmmEcZl9VXS5v_g1OmyRayJXfYqn0DFhlNdvQ1frsCDzgw7tdDDSymZA3V-P2Gu-FxluX0jBpjjshAlCKQ3cKEZAPAvgErUnLlqy9KMJvRsYxAoeOUrWvn0Ipoz6cXZJkGgZOHaNja/s1600/img080.jpg" height="640" width="460" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> </span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxNcwoNrxADFmKP32Y2JV6HkNg_FE-NlawZnilVlK2LeBOvOfbTNaMGPC8A1B24HiOafL1drphG13F6e_zlrtvREeBjC1qGXkmJ9MGVVa1PQhZHYMMpDreTlFJShTyfwkpdwDGHh5m4Wt/s1600/img081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxNcwoNrxADFmKP32Y2JV6HkNg_FE-NlawZnilVlK2LeBOvOfbTNaMGPC8A1B24HiOafL1drphG13F6e_zlrtvREeBjC1qGXkmJ9MGVVa1PQhZHYMMpDreTlFJShTyfwkpdwDGHh5m4Wt/s1600/img081.jpg" height="640" width="456" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><br /> Then there was a condolence certificate from President Harry S. Truman, which was undoubtedly also sent to the families of all war dead. </span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKiBaRvV8mjMozMxTKjViZ0lf59PDOyvULjqj0CtjwvTAiRxvAAl6pBhbjkr65TSOiyDpEgeDr36gFG14Y3K1z7VcBwg39Q7lsZbpsQzbdgr7wcGWIyq89eSoLUyfoCz8Cd6nve2w0guw/s1600/3.+04-30-2005+02;26;24PM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKiBaRvV8mjMozMxTKjViZ0lf59PDOyvULjqj0CtjwvTAiRxvAAl6pBhbjkr65TSOiyDpEgeDr36gFG14Y3K1z7VcBwg39Q7lsZbpsQzbdgr7wcGWIyq89eSoLUyfoCz8Cd6nve2w0guw/s1600/3.+04-30-2005+02;26;24PM.JPG" height="640" width="494" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">My mother told me on more than one occasion that she felt I was too young to understand the loss of my father so she and my grandparents tried to shield me from any overt grief or emotion. Her approach was to simply omit “and please bless daddy and bring him home safe” from bedtime prayers, hoping I would understand more as I grew older. </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">But she clearly misunderstood the radar that children have for the emotional weather in the home and in the adults around them. I knew that something was wrong. I remembered my father well </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">and it is from this time that I began to have dream-like memories or visions of him and his presence, and recurring dreams of being alone in strange places searching for him. And my search continues still, and accounts for why I am driven to tell his story after 70 years.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br />People have repeatedly told me I was much too young to have such memories. But they were wrong. Research into childhood brain function and memory has shown that while most people have “childhood amnesia,” in which they lose access to early memories – usually before the age of four or five – some as young as 18 months have clear memories, particularly when they are connected to an emotionally charged event such as the birth of a sibling, a traumatizing illness, or the death of a parent. In addition, repeated recall of such memories – particularly when they are fashioned into good story – actually strengthens them over time. Perhaps that is why many older people can recall people and events from their youth better than they can recall their short-term memory. I am quite familiar with that phenomenon.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">More on memory later.</span></b><br />
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Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-84145847758550241012015-03-08T09:20:00.001-07:002015-03-08T09:20:11.003-07:00Check out this young woman's research and story.<br />
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http://www.apilotnamedjoe.com/Don Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8362951099016952295.post-35802492226666827132015-03-07T15:09:00.001-08:002015-03-07T15:09:48.975-08:00http://www.vcstar.com/news/of-war-and-life-diaries-letters-help-ojai-manDon Christensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11480444545141389948noreply@blogger.com0