Archie Newton Bolstad
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Navy
BOLSTAD, Archie Newton
Archie Newton Bolstad was born on June 4th 1916 to Olai Rudolph & Anna Christine [Dronen] Bolstad in Floodwood, Minnesota.
Mr. Bolstad entered the Navy fleet air arm August 1941 as a Naval aviator and commissioned Lieutenant Senior Grade.
LT Bolstad reported for duty with the utility squadron at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in September 1942, doing patrol searches, torpedo recovery, target towing, fighter directory tracking, air coverage, and personnel transport.
Moved to New Hebrides in January 1943 and transferred to Espirito Santo when his unit was attached to a construction battalion. After a short tour of duty in the continental U.S., he returned to Pearl Harbor in April 1944.
En route to Pityilu, he stopped at Henderson field, Guadalcanal, where he and a friend borrowed a Jeep to check on the rest of the flight.
In his words: "It was a dark and rainy night and our Jeep slid off the bridge over the Lunga River. I found myself on my back on the bottom of the river with the side of the Jeep across my chest. I passed out but a Jeep-load of New Zealanders came along and my buddy got them to help roll the Jeep off me and give me artificial respiration. They took me to a hospital where they washed my clothes and washed the mud out of my eyes, nose and mouth. They didn't have a flight physician to ground me so I flew the next day the rest of the way with the squadron."
LT Bolstad returned to the continental U.S. in June 1945. Once state-side he married Irene [Tveit] on June 28th 1945 and they started a family
He was honorably discharged in September 1945.
Mr. Bolstad died on April 10th 2003 at the age of 86 years old. He is buried at Hope Lutheran Cemetery in his hometown of Floodwood.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The Saint Louis County World War II Project, page 41.
Albert J. Amatuzio Research Center | Veterans Memorial Hall (vets-hall.org)
Page 1064 WWII Navy Muster Rolls - Fold3
Dr Archibald Newton “Archie” Bolstad (1916-2003) - Find a Grave Memorial
U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 - Ancestry.com
