Bertil Gunnar Larson
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Navy
Bertil Gunnar Larson served in World War II in the Pacific Theater. He served in the U.S. Navy beginning on May 22, 1945.
He received basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois and advanced training at Shoemaker, California. He was assigned to the USS Arlington (AP-174).
Eventually, the crew of the Arlington was ordered to abandon ship and boarded lifeboats in the middle of the Pacific. The USS Healy (DD-672), a Fletcher-class destroyer, rescued them. Mr. Larson then worked aboard the Healy.
He was discharged on August 8, 1946. His rank was Seaman 1st Class.
Mr. Larson was born in 1927, the son of Axel Gunnar and Sigrid Larson. He graduated from Hibbing (Minnesota) High School.
Source: Veterans’ Memorial Hall veteran history form; veteran’s account (below)
“I was seventeen and a senior at Hibbing High School when I went to Minneapolis with a group to get a physical. From there, I was taken to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois when I expected to return back home to finish high school. After the training in Great Lakes, I was given further training at Shoemaker Training and Distribution Center in Shoemaker, California, and was assigned to the USS Arlington (AP-174). The Arlington left from San Francisco, California, to the South Pacific.
"Later on one night, after working on repairs to the Arlington all day, we were required to abandon ship and were put on lifeboats in the South Pacific. The USS Healy picked us up. As I had no ID with me, once on board the Healy, I had to prove I was who I claimed to be.
"I was assigned to Ensign Horne for various duties under his watch: four-hour bridge assignment with one hour and twenty minutes each on lookout, phones, and helm. Also, I was a Hot Shell Man in the number five "5" gun mount.
“After the end of the war was declared, the Healy spent time in Yokosuka, Japan. We picked up soldiers to transport them back to the States. We stopped in Hawaii, then San Diego, just before Christmas 1945, after which we headed for the Panama Canal and New York, where transportation of the soldiers terminated in Brooklyn, New York.
"At this time, the Healy and its crew headed for Charleston, South Carolina, to be prepared for being decommissioned. I was then assigned to the USS Bronson until discharged.
"On August 8, 1946, after hitchhiking to Minneapolis, Minnesota, I received my discharge papers. "
“Time for Hibbing and home . . . “
