I will change my narrative.
I will develop my research to not only include the Swedish born soldiers, who fought and fell in the Great War, and are buried along the western front, In Belgium and France, but also those Swedes who became a soldier in an organisation, left their home base and went for service to another country.
I will include those who met their fate on their way to the battlefields, and those who were soldiers and officers who were placed behind the lines to support the others who went to the frontline.
I will also include those who served and survived, as I think their stories are very important to remember. They had the chance to tell the world when they came home, even if some of them just wanted to forget.
Does this mean that I will include those who went from their homes to the unit camps, but never left for service? Probably I will, but I will change this gradually, to maybe one day end up with a solid database with facts regarding all of those Swedish born soldiers and other individuals, like nurses, who became a person in a organisation and sacrificed their life trying their best to change the outcome of the Great War. I have now made a slight change to my title and subtitle on my web page, to reflect my expanding research.
I will remember them all.
Background
The armistice occurred on November 11th, 1918, at 11 minutes over 11 am, but the war continued after that on several other locations. According to Commonwealth War Grave Commission, CWGC, 31st August 1921 marks the date when the First World War officially ended. It is also the date that the last casualties who died during or as a result of the conflict are commemorated by the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC).
The official, latest date for an American death in WWI, often recognized for eligibility for federal, government-furnished memorialization is also August 31st, 1921.
The Swedes at Brookwood American Cemetery
In this small article I will mention some of those soldiers who went towards the battlefields, served in their units, but never came home again, even if they never saw the frontline.
This is not fully accurate, as one of the soldiers went down with a American transport ship, which was torpedoed by German submarines, and in my mind I call that a frontline as well, but not on land.
Pvt Charles E Anderson
Charles E Anderson was born as Karl Einar Per Andersson Zetterström in Johannes parish in Stockholm, on April 8th, 1896.
He emigrated from Sweden in September 1913, and lived in a hotel in Westwood, California, when he was drafted on June the 5th, 1917. I haven’t been able to find notes in the normal church books about his emigration, however, the old “Rådmansarkivet” from Stockholm, gave me some information.
On March 25th, 1918, he went over to Europe and was stationed in Stonehenge, England, with his unit, the 377th Aero Squadron. He never went over to France, as the unit served as an maintenance and support unit.
Charles died in an aircraft accident on October 30th, 1918, according to the American Burial card, even if the the book about the American soldiers says that he was killed in action. I haven’t been able to find other details at the moment about the accident. Charles was a Private and probably ground base personnel and highly likely not a pilot.
Pvt Anton W Lundell
Anton W Lundell was born as Anton Waldemar Hildebrand Lundell in Forserum parish, Jönköping county, on July 7th, 1893.
He emigrated from Sweden in June 1911, and lived in Chicago Heights, Illinois, when he was drafted on June the 5th, 1917.
On May 23rd, 1918, he was on his way over to Europe with his unit, the 58th American Infantry Regiment, 4th Division, when their steamship “Moldavia”with reinforcement soldiers was struck by a torpedo from a German submarine. 480 soldiers from the regiment was onboard the ship and 55 soldiers from Company B went down with the ship.
According to the British War Department the soldiers should have been on deck when passing a dangerous zone, but there hasn’t been proved that the soldiers were inside the ship or on deck when the torpedo struck the ship, or if some of the soldiers were stationed according to the rules. Anton is mentioned on the wall of the missing at the Brookwood Cemetery.
Pvt Alfred Nelson
Alfred Nelson was born as Alfred Nilsson in Trolle Ljungby parish, Kristianstad parish, on September 13, 1886.
He emigrated from Sweden to North America in March, 1903, and he lived in Welch, Goodhue county, Minnesota, when he was drafted on June 5th, 1917.
Alfred left the USA with his unit, Company A, 332nd Machine Gun Battalion, 86th Division, on September 11th, 1918. Alfred had just arrived to England when he sadly died from the cause of Pneumonia on September 28, 1918. That cause of death was very common during the actual period.
Many American soldiers were ill already in America, and the “Spanish Flu” spread quickly among the soldiers, and was brought over to the units already in England and France. The flu was not originated from Spain, but from Kansas in the USA, in the beginning of 1918.
Pvt 1/cl. John Gunnard Sandquist
John Gunnard Sandquist was born as Johan August Gunnar Sandquist in Åseda parish, Kronoberg county, in Småland, on September 4th, 1891.
John emigrated from Sweden to North America in August 1906, and he lived in Avalon, Rock county, Wisconsin, when he was drafted on June 5th, 1917.
He left the USA with his unit, Company L, 343rd Infantry Regiment, 86th Division, somewhere between 2nd and 14th of September, 1918. The 86th Division arrived England before the units were deployed to France. Like Alfred Nelson, John became ill and died of Pneumonia on October 9th, 1918.
Pvt Edwin Swanson
Edwin Swanson is believed to be born as Edvin Svensson in Halland county in Sweden. I haven’t been able to confirm him in any Swedish church book, however, Edwin mentioned in his draft that he was born in Linköping, Östergötland, on July 11th, 1894, but in his American Naturalisation papers he wrote that he was born on July 12th, 1894.
On one page on Ancestry he is mentioned to be born in Genkoping, which is interpreted as Jönköping, which is a town 130 km south of Linköping. I have tried every combination, but still not able to find any correct Edvin in the Swedish church books.
Edwin mentioned in his American Naturalisation papers that he emigrated from Sweden in 1911. He lived in Reynolds, Rock Island county, Illinois when he was drafted on June 5th, 1917. He signed his papers in the camp and got married to his wife Grace before he left for Europe.
Edwin left the USA for England with his unit, Company C, 333rd Machine Gun Battalion, 86th Division, on the same date as John Gunnard Sandquist, between 2nd and 14th of September, 1918. As the latest two soldiers mentioned above, Edwin also died of Pneumonia, on September 29th, 1918.
Edwin, John Gunnard and Alfred, all died of Pneumonia, and they all belonged to 86th Division, in the 332nd, 333rd and 343rd Infantry Regiments, and they all went over in the same period. The Flu could have been brought on the sam ship or among the soldiers within the same Division.
I haven’t been able to find if they went over on the same vessel, when they went over to Europe and England.
None of the soldiers mentioned above reached the Frontline in France or Belgium, but they were soldiers in units meant to participate in the War, and that is the reason for why I choose to commemorate them as well. They are all today buried and commemorated in the Brookwood American Cemetery in Surrey, south.west of London in England.
In addition to those five soldiers mentioned above, there is one more who is mentioned on the wall of the missing at the Brookwood American Cemetery. He is the Medal of Honor recipient Gustaf Adolph Sundquist.
You can read more about him in my article through this link.
So far I have only mentioned those who fought and fell, or died of disease in Belgium or France, along the Western Front, in my database, and I have so far noted 595 soldiers within those criteria.
I will now change my narrative to also include the circumstances around the Swedish born soldiers mentioned above, together with those I know will fall within my now extended criteria, as I think they deserve it.
Through this extended criteria, I have now passed the 600 number in my database, and it will be more. They are not forgotten.
We will remember them.