RICHARD M. SWENSSON, LCDR, USN

Richard Swensson '39

Date of birth: July 4, 1916

Date of death: April 29, 1944

Age: 27

Lucky Bag

From the 1939 Lucky Bag:

RICHARD MERRIWETHER SWENSSON

Junction City, Kansas

Swede

It's a big change from cruising the dust-swept plains of Kansas to becoming one of the best boathandlers at the Academy, but here's the boy who did just that. To him, social functions are only things to be endured; but give him a sea-swept deck and he is in ecstasy. Despite his forbidding countenance and unassuming manner, his friends all know that he can be depended upon in a tight spot. He's come close to starring here, too. So capable of looking out for himself, he will listen to a sad tale of woe without giving a thought to his own troubles. If personal merit is the keynote of success, some day we'll be saying "Here comes the Admiral. Swensson is the name."

Battalion Boxing 4, 3, 2, 1; Orchestra 4, 3, 2; Boat Club 4, 3, 2, 1; House Committee 1; M.P.O.

RICHARD MERRIWETHER SWENSSON

Junction City, Kansas

Swede

It's a big change from cruising the dust-swept plains of Kansas to becoming one of the best boathandlers at the Academy, but here's the boy who did just that. To him, social functions are only things to be endured; but give him a sea-swept deck and he is in ecstasy. Despite his forbidding countenance and unassuming manner, his friends all know that he can be depended upon in a tight spot. He's come close to starring here, too. So capable of looking out for himself, he will listen to a sad tale of woe without giving a thought to his own troubles. If personal merit is the keynote of success, some day we'll be saying "Here comes the Admiral. Swensson is the name."

Battalion Boxing 4, 3, 2, 1; Orchestra 4, 3, 2; Boat Club 4, 3, 2, 1; House Committee 1; M.P.O.

Loss

Richard was lost when his TBF-1 Avenger crashed on April 29, 1944 near Truk. He was a member of Torpedo Squadron (VT) 24, operating from USS Belleau Wood (CVL 24).

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Richard graduated in 1934 from Junction City High School. His one ambition is to be an Admiral in the United States Navy. “Aye, aye, sir.” His floor talks in American history are also noteworthy. He once said, “The man traded a gold mine for a bottle of whisky that killed nine men in three hours and disabled another who smelled the cork.”
Richard was nominated to the Naval Academy by Rep. Randolph Carpenter.
On September 16, 1941, Richard of Pensacola and Roberta C. Reed of Elkhart, Indiana, were married in St. Louis.
In late October, 1942, Richard was on the USS Hornet, transferred to the USS Northampton, and then to the USS Solace. On October 31, he was transferred to "LURLINE" for further transport to a hospital. The USS Hornet was hit on October 26 by several Japanese bombers and torpedoes and was ultimately sunk by US destroyers.
In December 1942, Richard was on an extended furlough recovering from injuries received in the Solomon Islands when the carrier on which he was an officer was bombed by the enemy. He stated that he was one of several officers who had just moved from their posts when the Japanese dive bomber crashed through the boat and landed in the spot where they had been sitting. Lt. Swensson added that the pilot, although still in the debris of the plane, was hardly recognizable as a person, since he was so badly mutilated. Per Macon Chronicle-Herald, Macon, Missouri, December 31, 1942.
Richard was survived by his wife and 15-month-old son Richard of Topeka, and by his mother Henryetta who lived in California. His father E. K. was employed at the Spot Cash store in Manhattan, and then the family moved to Junction City where his father was a buyer for a furniture store. He died in 1936. Richard also had a brother named Jack.

His wife was listed as next of kin. His brother also survived him. He is listed at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

Photographs

From his high school yearbook
From the Lucky Bag

Distinguished Flying Cross

In The Manhattan Mercury (newspaper) on December 6, 1944, it was reported that he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross "for heroism and extraordinary achievement in aerial flight as a pilot of Torpedo Squadron 24 attached to an aircraft carrier in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Palau, Caroline and Ulithi islands, and at Hollondia, New Guinea, from March 30 to April 29, 1944."

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.