Archive find gave another three soldiers

Last week I was at “Utvandrarnas hus” in the town of Växjö, around 1,5 h car trip from my home. Mu intentions were to look at some archive finds after had been talking to the manager in the phone the day before.

The personnel were very helpful, and helped me with the things that they could find. From the beginning I sent in some names to the archive, but they couldnt find any things connected to the name I sent in, but they found three other names that I did not have in my list.

One of these three soldiers was Ernst A Petersen, named Ernst Albin Petersson in Sweden, born in November 1890 in Urshults perish in Kronoberg county, in southern part of Sweden. Ernst went to North America in march 1909, aged 18. Joined the American Expeditionary Force from Minnesota in 1918, and left for France and the Western Front in August 1918.

He fought for 128th Regt, 32nd Division in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. Ernst died of wounds received in action October 13th, 1918, and he is buried at the American Meuse-Argonne cemetery.

The second soldier was Nels G Swanson, in Sweden named as Nils Gottfrid Svensson, born November 1918 in Reftele perish, Jönköpings county, in thye southern part of Sweden. He left for USA in 1906, age 18, and joined the American Expeditionary Force from the state of Washington. He fought for 11th coy, 20th Engineers in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, and he died from wounds received in action October 11th 1918 and is buried at the American Meuse-Argonne cemetery.

The last of those three individuals I found through the local archive was Louis Munson, named Ludvig Månsson in Sweden. Ludvig was born in Karlskrona Amiralitets Perish, Blekinge county in the southern part of Sweden. He left Sweden from Stockholm in 1913 for North America, and probably went over to France in summer 1918, as many other soldiers connected to American Expeditionary Force.

Ludvig fought for 353 Infantry Regt, 89th Division, and are noted to be missing in action sice November 4th, 1918. In November 4th the second part of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive started, ant the battles are known to have been heavy in the region. Ludvig is noted on the walls, as he do not have an own grave, at the American Meuse-Argonne Cemetery in France.

I will continue to search for more individuals connected to the local archives, and even if I sometimes think that I have found most of them, those Swedish soldiers who fought and fell at the Western Front in World War 1, I am pretty sure others will occur in the archives.

They are there, somewhere. May they rest in peace.

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