HALVOR M. EKEREN, CAPT, USAF
Halvor Ekeren '51
Lucky Bag
From the 1951 Lucky Bag:
Halvor Martin Ekeren
Thief River Falls, Minnesota
A staunch defender of the mid-western way of life. . . known as "Hal" to friends . . . recognized throughout the Halls of Bancroft by his smile and distinctive laugh . . . born at Devil's Lake, North Dakota in 1929 ... a living example of the fact that everything that emerged from the depression was not bad (?) . . . graduated from Lincoln High School in Thief River Falls (better known as Crook Creek), Minnesota . . . Motto: "Things can't be as tough tomorrow as they were today" . . . Hobby as a civilian was keeping his jalopy running; hobby now is meeting people and seeing some of the world . . . ambition: to retire with a family on a small farm . . . friendly, a hard worker, conscientious and practical.
Halvor Martin Ekeren
Thief River Falls, Minnesota
A staunch defender of the mid-western way of life. . . known as "Hal" to friends . . . recognized throughout the Halls of Bancroft by his smile and distinctive laugh . . . born at Devil's Lake, North Dakota in 1929 ... a living example of the fact that everything that emerged from the depression was not bad (?) . . . graduated from Lincoln High School in Thief River Falls (better known as Crook Creek), Minnesota . . . Motto: "Things can't be as tough tomorrow as they were today" . . . Hobby as a civilian was keeping his jalopy running; hobby now is meeting people and seeing some of the world . . . ambition: to retire with a family on a small farm . . . friendly, a hard worker, conscientious and practical.
Loss
Hal was lost when his "jet plane exploded over Las Vegas, Nev." on April 8, 1959. He ejected and parachuted to earth but died two hours later in a Las Vegas hospital.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
Halvor lived with his grandparents, Oluf and Gertrude Ekeren, and his uncle Walter in 1940. Oluf owned a pharmacy in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.
Halvor graduated from Lincoln High School in 1947. He was nominated to the Naval Academy by Representative Harold Hagen. After graduating from the Academy, he went to Greenville, Mississippi, for the Navy’s air program.
In May, 1953, Halvor participated in the Yuma’s Air Base golf tournament against the Yuma Test Station in Arizona.
From the Daily Oklahoman, December 17, 1955:
An even dozen F-86 Sabre jet flyers of the 35th fighter-interceptor wing, based at Yokota in Japan, completed spiritedly with each other in an exercise designed to sharpen their combat readiness.
Guided by ground-station radar men, the pilots followed through to the “Bogies” – the intruding planes – and fired mock bursts of rockets to down the “enemy” aircraft.
Exercises to Be Tougher
The 35th wing’s commander, Col. Eugene B. Fletcher of San Diego, Calif., said such exercises will be held monthly. He said they will get progressively tougher to provide his men “with the most realistic interceptor practice possible.”Winner of Friday’s contest was Lieut. Halvor M. Ekeren, 26, of St. Cloud, Minn., who compiled the highest individual score of 953 out of a possible 1,000.
The race began when the warning buzzer flashed in the ready room and the word “scramble” rang out.
Ekeren and his wing mate, Lieut. William H. Beardsley, dashed out the door to their waiting all-weather, radar-equipped jets. The pair of sleek Sabres roared hurriedly into life, nosed quickly down the ramp and swooshed off the runway.
He Scores ‘Kill’
“As soon as I got airborne,” Ekeren said later, “GCI (ground control intercept radar) called and gave me a vector of 070 degrees.”The pilot pushed his face into the rubber combing encircling his plane’s radarscope and kept it there until he had scored his “kill.”
On November 9, 1955, his plane's engine had flamed out, but he brought her to a safe landing on a taxiway at Komaki airfield.
On February 28, 1956, Hal only had five more minutes of fuel when he was told by the control there was another aircraft on the runway that couldn’t be moved. His visibility was down to 150 feet. He touched down and used his drag chute to bring the plane to a safe stop.
In early May 1956, he received the pilot of the month award from the 35th Fighter Interceptor group stationed in Nagoya, Japan. He was a member of the 39th Fighter Interceptor squadron. His award cited “superior airmanship.”
In July, 1958, Halvor graduated from the Air Force experimental flight test pilot school at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Halvor married Nancy Huston in 1950 at Silver Springs, Maryland. At the time of his death, their children were Kathleen Gail, age 8, Halvor 3d, age 4, and David, age 3.
His mother was Verona Opal (Nixon.) His father was a pharmacist who served in the Army Infantry Medical Department during the 1920s. He was stationed in Montana and later at Fort Clayton in the Canal Zone. He was discharged as a sergeant. He died in Florida in 1983.
He was survived by his wife, Nancy, their three children, and now at least three grandchildren. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
From the June-July 1959 issue of Shipmate:
It is with deep regret that I report the death of Capt. HALVOR MARTIN EKEREN, USAF. Hal, as he was known to his classmates, was killed at Nellis Air Force Base while on a trip from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in an F-106. Hal was assigned to the flight section of Flight Test Operations at Edwards, where he lived with his wife Nancy and their children. I join the entire class in expressing our heartfelt sympathy to Hal's family. During his career in the Air Force, Hal continued to display the qualities which earned this description in the 1951 Lucky Bag: ". . . friendly, a hard worker, conscientious and practical."
Photographs
From his high school yearbook
From the Democrat and Chronicle on April 10, 1959
Project Mercury
Hal was one of 32 candidates for NASA's Project Mercury and his life is discussed at length in "Selecting the Mercury Seven: The Search for America's First Astronauts" by Colin Burgess. It's believed that Hal was originally in a smaller field of 18, but he removed his name (with the possibility of later consideration) before that occurred. He was lost the day before the seven Mercury astronauts were announced.
Memorials
In 1959 the USAF Test Pilot School introduced an award in Hal's name, presented to an outstanding pilot in each class.
"(L to R) Robert G. Bell Captain USAF, Roland M. Brunelle Captain USAF, Richard M. Corbett Captain USAF, Halvor M. Ekeren Captain USAF, Kenneth W. Grubaugh Captain USAF, Gerald A. Hattendorf Captain USAF, Archie T. Iddings Captain USAF, Herman L. Knapp Captain USAF, Jesse C. Locke Jr Captain USAF, Jimmie Pierce Captain USAF, Ralph C. Rich 1st Lt USAF, Donald W. Stewarc Jr Captain USAF, William R. Wronski Captain USAF, Henry E. Chouteau Civilian Northrop Acft, Jack H. Stephenson Civilian Grumman"
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
