Daniel Wallinder, Jr
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
WALLINDER, Daniel
Daniel Wallinder Jr. was born October 18th 1917 to Daniel & Minnie Wallinder in Duluth, Minnesota.
Mr. Wallinder was inducted into the U.S. Army on October 16th 1940 and served in World War II in the Pacific Theater with the Army's 169th Regiment, 43rd Infantry Division. He rose to the rank of Private First Class.
PFC Wallinder was killed in action on July 14th 1943, at Munda, Solomon Islands. His body is buried at the Manila American Cemetery in Fort Bonifacio, Manila, Philippines.
Based on his partial dog tag he is believed to have been from Nicollet St. in West Duluth and thus would have gone to Denfeld High School.
He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the following medals:
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★ World War II Victory Medal,
★ Purple Heart,
★ Combat Infantryman Badge,
★ Marksmanship Badge,
★ American Campaign Medal,
★ Army Presidential Unit Citation,
★ Army Good Conduct Medal,
★ Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal,
Source(s): Some information from partial dog tag discovered in foxhole in Munda;
Overseas American Cemeteries: http://www.wwiimemorial.com/registry/cemetery/search/pframe.asp?HonoreeID=784142&popcount=2&tcount=2
2021 Update - Return of Daniel's (partial) dog tag to the Wallinder family
During an excavation dig in 2008 former USMC Shane Elliott and his guide Barney Paulsen unearthed a partial dog tag from the dig site identified as a fox hole. Based off of the data that was available from the dog tag, it was determined to be that of Daniel Wallinder. Shane attempted to find any next of kin in the Duluth area but the family had long since moved. So Shane contacted the St. Louis County Historical Society (SLCHS) and after multiple communications, it was determined that the SLCHS would be the best home for the dog tag permanently or temporarily in lieu of a family member appearing to claim it.
Nearly a decade later, a Wallinder family member was located; Daniel’s brother Keith in the Seattle area. He was not well but he was interested in having his brother’s dog tag returned. Unfortunately, in that time Daniel’s brother Keith has passed away but he has not yet been interred. We are now in contact with Daniel’s nephew Gregg (Keith’s son) and he has reaffirmed that the family would still like to obtain Daniel’s dog tag.
With the dog tag now readily available, the first round of deaccessioning it has been completed with a unanimous vote from the Veterans Memorial Hall Advisory Committee (VMHAC). Next will be a deaccession vote from the Museum Ops Committee which should be just a formality. Once this occurs in mid-October, the dog tag will be mailed to the Wallinder family by the SLCHS Curatorial staff.
For more information on Daniel Wallinder’s life of service to the country see the links below:
PFC Daniel Wallinder Jr. (1917-1943) - Find A Grave Memorial
Daniel Wallinder : Private First Class from Minnesota, World War II Casualty (honorstates.org)
