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Home  Foreword Introduction The Road to Bataan The Bataan Death March The San Fernando Train Ride Camp O'Donnell Clark Field Concentration Camp Bilibid Prison The Hell Ships Japan The Nomachi Express Camp Nomachi Surrender, Liberation, and Repatriation The Homecoming Epilogue In Memoriam Extra: Bataan Death March Route Map Extra: Philippine Department of Tourism Extra: Star Tribune: March of Time ("Article of Interest" for 4-6 Grade Basic Skills Reading Test Prep) Extra: Footprints in Courage (A Book About Alf Larson and the Bataan Death March) Extra: Alf's Letter to God Post/View Comments |
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Introduction
 Did you ever go back to Sweden?No. We thought about it a few years ago. What did your dad do for a living in Duluth? Initially, the only job he could get was packing fish in Rust Parker, a company in Duluth. Eventually, he got back into his field, which was electrical engineering. How did you meet Jane who later became your wife? The first time I remember seeing Jane was when her parents came to our home in Norton Park, Duluth. Her brother and I were good friends and about the same age. We were going sailing on a kayak a friend and I built. She wanted to come along. We didn’t want to have anything to do with that. I wanted to go sailing with them. They didn’t want a girl following them around. (Jane) How old was Jane when you first knew her? I was about ten years old. (Jane) How many years difference between the two of you? Five and a half years. Did you and Jane know each other when you were in high school? Yes, but she was just a kid. Jane’s and my parents were best friends. They got together all the time and played cards. How did your parents become such good friends? They became best friends through a family marriage. Jane’s cousin Harry and my sister Anna met while attending a dance at the Swedish club in West Duluth. They ended up getting married. When did you graduate from high school? I graduated from high school in June 1937 and went to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I worked as a still tender for about six months in same company with my brother. He was an electrical engineer. I got sicker than a dog there from working around toxic chemicals! I went back to Duluth and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and went to Brimson, Minnesota. At that time, the Army operated the "CCC". I spent six months in it and was discharged in March l939. The lieutenant in charge said, "Why don’t you join the Army?" I couldn’t find a job so, a week later, I enlisted in the Army at Fort Snelling. I had no idea what I was getting into!
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All materials copyright © 2001 Rick Peterson.
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