Sgt Tage Schou Nielsen
(1916 - 2014)
Profile
Sgt Tage Schou Nielsen arrived in the United States in 1937 to work for F.L. Smith & Co. He enlisted in the US Army during the Second World War. Some sources suggest that he served in the air force. This is not certain at this point however.
Tage Schou Nielsen was born on 3 March 1916 in Copenhagen, to gardener Alfred Nielsen and Dagmar Hansine Nielsen (née Pedersen Schou).[1]
Schou Nielsen joined the cement company F.L. Smith & Co. in Denmark in 1933 and, in 1937, he was sent to the subsidiary in the United States.[2] He arrived in New York onboard SS Scythia on 5 October 1937. His profession was recorded as secretary and his final destination was the New York office of F.L. Smth & Co. He declared no intention of becoming a United States citizen. There are no information on his activities in the late 1930s. At the time of the German occupation of Denmark, he was prevented to return and to communicate with his family. His parents and brothers sent a brief notice in a Danish newspaper in May 1941. This seems to have been the only means of communication.[3] At this point, Schou Nielsen had decided to remain in the United States. On 26 November 1940, he returned to New York from a trip to Havana, Cuba, onboard the SS Oriente. This time he declared his intention to remain in the United States, [4] and he declared his intention to become a citizen on 12 June 1941.[5]
Schou Nielsen enlisted as a private (32635725) in the United States Army in New York City on 19 November 1942. He was later promoted to Sergeant.[6] Schou Nielsen was naturalised on 25 June 1943 and, thus, was a Danish citizen when enlisting. He changed his name from Tage Schou Nielsen to Schou Nielsen as part of the naturalisation.[7] There are different indications about the nature of his service. On the one hand sources suggest that he was attached to the Information and Educational Division.[8] On the other hand, a hospital admission card suggest that he he served in the air force and was admitted to the hospital in February 1945.[9]
Schou Nielsen returned to F.L. Smith & Co. in New York after the war.[10] He married Solveig Lilian Olsen on 17 March 1950.[11] They were married for more than 60 years, before he passed on 21 October 2014.[12]
Schou Nielsen was awarded the King Christian X Memorial Medal 1940-1945.[13]
Endnotes
[1] DNA: Parish register, Gentofte sogn.
[2] Smith & Co.: Cresskill, The Sunday News, 24 January 1971.
[3] Hilsener til Danske i Amerika, Den danske Pioneer, 15 May 1941, p. 3.
[4] Ancestry: New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957.
[5] Ancestry: New York, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1943.
[6] Ancestry: U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current.
[7] Ancestry: New York, Index to Petitions for Naturalization filed in New York City, 1792-1989.
[8] DNA: UM, gruppeordnede sager 1946-1972, 48.Y.90 USA.
[9] Ancestry: U.S., World War II Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954.
[10] Smith & Co.: Cresskill, The Sunday News, 24 January 1971.
[11] Ancestry: New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018.
[12] Obituary for SCHOU NIELSEN, Jupiter Courier, 6 November 2014, p. 24.
[13] DNA: UM, gruppeordnede sager 1946-1972, 48.Y.90 USA.