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<em>Kenneth Sharp "Swede" Olson</em> was born in Kemmerer, WY, in 1898 to George F. and Mary Anne (Lusty) Olson. The family moved to Salt Lake City, UT, in 1906. Swede graduated from high school in Salt Lake City, and entered West Point in June 1917 with the Class of ’21. Because of WWI, the class graduated early, on 1 Nov 1918, less than 17 months after entering. The Armistice was signed shortly afterward, as the class awaited shipment to Europe from a port in New Jersey. The class of second lieutenants returned to West Point as student officers, on 3 Dec 1918 and graduated for the second time on 11 Jun 1919 as the Class of ’19.</p>
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Upon leaving West Point, they traveled to Europe to study the battlefields of WWI for three months. Following that, they reported to their new duty stations. Swede, being in the Infantry, went to Ft. Benning, GA, where he met Cathryn "Kit" Dooly, fell in love, and the two married in March 1922.</p>
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His next duty assignment—Ft. Davis, Panama Canal Zone—both Kit and Swede dearly loved. In 1924, their first son, Kenneth S., Jr., was born there. Following duty in Panama, the Olsons were assigned to Ft. Francis E. Warren, Cheyenne, WY, where their second son, Robert E., was born in 1928.</p>
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Following that tour, Swede was sent to his hometown of Salt Lake City to work with its reserve officers. He spent four years in Salt Lake City, and due to the lean budget of the depression years, he was transferred to nearby Ft. Douglas for duty with the 38th Infantry.</p>
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In 1937, Swede transferred to the Finance Corps, attended school, and was assigned to Ft. Belvoir, VA, where he was active in the local drama club, participating in several excellent plays. Possessing a tremendous sense of humor, Swede reported on opening night for a play where he had the lead role and performed an award-winning act as a drunk. Needless to say, those putting the play on were shocked, until they realized it was Swede acting.</p>
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In November 1940, Swede and his family were transferred to the Philippine Islands. Arriving in Manila aboard the <em>U.S. Army Transport Grant,</em> the family settled near Nichols Field. They enjoyed a few short months together before Kit and the boys were evacuated aboard the <em>U.S. Army Transport Republic</em> in May 1941. Kit and the boys went to Columbus, GA, to live with Kit’s mother for the duration of the separation.</p>
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Following Pearl Harbor and the declaration of war with Japan, Japanese forces invaded the Philippines. Information is sketchy, but Swede was assigned to the Visayan forces and was captured in 1942. He was the U.S. Commander of the prison camp at Davao Penal Colony on Mindanao until it was closed in 1944. The prisoners were moved, in advance of the U.S. forces return to the Philippines, to Bilibid Prison in Manila, in preparation for a move to Japan.</p>
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On 13 Dec 1944, they began the tortuous journey to Japan on unmarked Japanese ships. U.S. forces, not knowing that U.S. POW’s were aboard, stalked and bombed those ships. Swede survived the bombing and sinking of the <em>Oryoku Maru</em> off of Olongapo, near Subic Bay.</p>
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Moved to the <em>EnouraMaru,</em> they were bombed on 9 Jan 1945 in the harbor at Takao, Formosa. Mortally wounded, Swede was transferred to the <em>Brazil Maru</em> and died en route to Japan on 24 Jan 1945. He was buried at sea, as were many of his fellow prisoners who lost their lives on the journey of the "hell ships."</p>
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Several months after the end of WWII, MG Edward F. Witsell, the Acting Adjutant General of the U.S. Army, sent Kit a picture of Swede and a group of 21 POWs at a clandestine 4th of July celebration that the prisoners had put together, apparently on 4 Jul 1942 at Cabantuan Prison. In the background of the picture is an American flag, "contraband, (that) magically appeared and was hung on the wall" for the event. "The door to the shack and chinks in the walls were covered with cloth to keep it dark to anyone observing from the outside" so that the Japanese would not be aware of the party. The photograph was received by GEN Witsell, from COL W. F. Dalton, a liberated prisoner of war of the Japanese government, who asked that it be sent to Kit. The picture of Swede shows the resistive attitude he had toward his Japanese captives and the devotion he had towards the United States, in whose service he gave his life.</p>
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Kit died in February 1971 while living with many old friends, at Army Distaff Hall in Washington, DC. Ken, Jr., served in the Navy during WWII and the Korean War. Bob graduated from West Point with the Class of ’51 and retired from the Air Force in 1975.</p>
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The dream of a western boy and son of a neighborhood grocer was realized when Kenneth S. Olson entered and graduated from West Point. He served his country in the U.S. Army for his entire adult life. He marched to the drumbeat of "Duty, Honor, Country" that he proudly shared with the Long Gray line.</p>