Sgt Vernon Andersen
(1920 - 2006)
Profile
Sgt Vernon Andersen enlisted in the USAAF in 1942. He served as an aircraft mechanic Presque Isle Army Air Field in Maine, which was part of the North Atlantic Transport Route.
Vernon Andersen was born (as Verner Andersen) on 14 January 1915 in Sangstrup in Voldby parish near Grenaa, to carpenter Otto Marentius Andersen and Kristine Christiansen. [1] Andersen was raised in Sangstrup, where is father was a master carpenter. [2]
The family emigrated to the United States in the early 1920s. Andersen’s father travelled to the country in April 1923 to join his brother in Racine, Wisconsin. [3] Andersen, his mother and siblings followed, arriving in New York from Copenhagen onboard the SS United States on 14 October 1924.[4]
In July 1941, at the time of his draft, he lived in Racine, Wisconsin, working as a baker at the local Kappus Bakery.[5]
Aircraft mechanic
Andersen enlisted as a private (36235680) in the U.S. Army at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, on 20 February 1942. [6] A farewell party was arranged for him by family and friends on the eve of departure.[7]
He became an aircraft mechanic in Air Corps and, at the time of his wedding in September 1943, he had been promoted to corporal.[8]
In June 1944, he graduated as an aircraft mechanic from the Curtiss-Wright technical school in Buffalo, New York, and he visited family and friends before returning to the Presque Isle Army Air Field in Maine. He had been promoted to sergeant at this point. [9] This airfield was located near the Canadian border in the furthermost north-western corner of the United States and parts of the North Atlantic Transport Route.[10] His then wife June (née Christensen) who was of Danish descent, was employed at the station hospital.[11]
After the war
Andersen returned to Racine after the war. He worked as a cabinetmaker for many years. He died on 20 December 2006.[12]
Andersen was the brother of Niels Aage Andersen, who served in the US Army Air Force as well. A third brother served in the U.S. Navy.
Endnotes
[1] DNA: Parish register, Voldby sogn.
[2] DNA: 1916 Census of Denmark.
[3] Ancestry: New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957.
[4] Ancestry: New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957.
[5] Ancestry: U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.
[6] Ancestry: U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1861-1985.
[7] Give Farewell Party for Vernon Andersen, The Journal Times, 20 February 1942, p. 12.
[8] Pair to Line in Maine, The Journal Times, 13 September 1943, p. 8.
[9] The Daily Social Notebook, The Journal Times, 6 June 1944. p. 12.
[10] Presque Isle Air Force Base, Wikidepia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presque_Isle_Air_Force_Base (accessed on 13 March 2024).
[11] The Daily Social Notebook, The Journal Times, 6 June 1944. p. 12.
[12] Obituary for Vernon Andersen, The Journal Times, 24 December 2006, p. 10.