“Sinking of the Bismarck”
Posting from Vickie Metcalfe (’70): Bottineau, ND
Gary and Dunseith friends,
Well, it’s back to the real North Dakota winters! Another, cold day here in Bottineau.
Do you recall a late ’50’s early ’60, singer Johnny Horton?
He was a truly wonderful country musician! He was another of those talented musicians who left too soon.
With Johnny Hortons’s music I was teased into learning more about history.
And, I always like finding out other sides to a good story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KecIdlEAKhU
The first time I ever heard about ‘The Bismarck’ was on an LP of Johnny Horton.
It was at Uncle Emil and Ann’s when they lived at the big two story green house out in the country Marysville, WA;
Adjacent to the house were Strawberry fields on one side, a deep ditch filled with water on another,
a dusty gravel road, and another side stumps left from the logging.
Various times we cousins enjoyed our adventures, we could be found picking and eating berries in the field,
walking the road, exploring the stump field, playing on a plank bridge over the water filled ditch, singing along with the Beatles
and roasting marshmallows over a fire pit
On the weekends, our dads were home from working out away from home plastering.
Again, we’d be all together kids played making our fun while grown ups visited .
On lazy Sunday afternoons, Uncle Emil played guitar.
He’d sing all kinds of music, including our favorite Johnny Horton songs.
Uncle Emil’s blue eyes would twinkle, the dimples blossomed his rosy cheeks as he sang.
” We hit the deck a runnin and spun those guns around…….!”
Just about year later back in ND our family got our own record player from Santa.
Mom purchased the Johnny Horton LP. We’d put on the Johnny Horton LP and soon;
My little brother holding his calico cat, ‘Malty’ was singing along.
He and the cat had a routine down pat; As he sang, “We’ll spin those guns around”
he spun around and point her tail as a gun at us…his sisters.
We girls would roll our eyes. But, he’d grin,his eyes twinkled and Malty absolutely loved him and their routine!
Tonight reading BBC, I discovered the other part of the story about the Bismarck.
A Scottish pilot flying a ‘Swordfish’ torpedoed the Bismarck first.
Scottish pilot who helped sink the Bismarck dies
Jack (John( Moffat a Scottish pilot launched the torpedo which crippled the Bismarck in 1941.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-38297099
”
‘Mr Moffat and his crew took off in his Swordfish L9726 from the deck of Ark Royal and headed for the Bismarck, fighting against driving rain, low cloud and a gale.
At 21:05 he dropped the torpedo which hit its target, jamming the rudder of Hitler’s flagship.”
Naval chiefs said he flew in at 50ft, nearly skimming the surface of the waves, in a hail of bullets and shells, to get the best possible angle of attack on the ship.
The air strike on the Bismarck was launched as the battleship headed to the relative safety of waters off the coast of France.
And there it is. Just another piece of the story of the Bismarck.
Until Later,
Vickie L. Metcalfe
Brenda (Dick) Johnson’s father passed away.
Posted by Neola Kofoid Garbe: Bottineau, ND
Trygve Knutson
July 6, 1924 – December 10, 2016
SHERWOOD – Trygve Kalmer Knutson (Trig or T.K.), 92, of Sherwood, went to his heavenly home on Saturday, December 10, 2016, at the Good Samaritan Home in Mohall.
Trig was born on the family farm in Rockford Township, Renville County, west of Sherwood, on July 6, 1924, to Carl and Kari (Aarhus) Knutson. He attended all eight grades at the Stafford #4 country school. His high school years were spent at Kenmare and Sherwood, but before graduating he joined the U.S. Navy on June 10, 1943, just before his senior year. While in the Navy he received his GED from San Diego High School. Trig was assigned to naval destroyer escort U.S.S. Samuel S. Miles DE 183 as Fire Control Officer 3rd Class. His ship was sent to serve in the Pacific theater including the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He was honorably discharged on March 5, 1946. He was proud to have served our country and had many memorable experiences while in the Navy. He was among the World War II veterans who were chosen to go to Washington, D.C., on the 2010 Honor Flight. He was also awarded service medals in 2015 by Senator John Hoeven at a ceremony in Minot.
After returning from the war, Trig met the love of his life, Dorothy Irene Lakefield. They were married on June 5, 1949, and he had lovingly called her “his bride” ever since. They farmed in the Lansford area before moving to Sherwood. During the 1950s, he was the Standard Oil Dealer in Sherwood. In the 1960s, he started working for the U.S. Postal Service as a rural mail carrier and also farmed in the Sherwood area until his retirement in 1980. Together Trig and Dorothy had six children, of whom they were very proud.
Trig enjoyed hunting, restoring old cars and taking care of “his bride.” He always believed that a man was only as good as his word. A good-but-stubborn Norwegian, his life values were God, country and family. He was a member of Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Sherwood, a 70-year member of Bothun-Peterson American Legion Post #213, Sherwood, and a member of the Rural Mail Carriers Association. He served the Sherwood community as a member of various councils including school, church and city.
Family: his wife of 67 years, Dorothy; daughters, Brenda (Dick) Johnson, Dunseith, Cheryl Knutson, Phoenix, AZ, Cindy Cooper, Bismarck, and Sheri Knutson, Sundance, WY; sons, Greg Knutson, Thornton, CO, and Tim (Gail) Knutson, Sherwood; grandchildren, David Johnson, Jennifer Penner, Kimberly Cooper, Kaitlin Sisk, Emily Sondrol, Taylor Knutson, Josh Herigstad, Ryan Herigstad, Jesse Halstengaard and Sheyenne Halstengaard; great-grandchildren, Christian, Kaleb, Zoie and Kamden; great-great-granddaughter, Ariya; sisters, Carolyn Houmann, Sun City, AZ, and Thelma Nelson, Fargo; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Trygve was preceded in death by: his parents; brothers, Gilmore, Arne, Robert and Arnold Knutson; and sisters, Constance Turpin, Elna Knox, Melba Gilseth and Roselyn Thorson.
Funeral: 2:00 p.m., Friday, December 16, 2016, at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Sherwood.
Burial: Sherwood Union Cemetery, Sherwood, in the spring.
Family Service: 7:00 p.m., Thursday, December 15, 2016, at the funeral home.
Visitation: 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Thursday, at Brose Funeral Home, Mohall.
Gary’s comments.
Brenda, our condolences are with you and our family with the loss of your father. He was a good man and will be dearly missed.
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Blog (531) posted on August 26, 2009
Posted on August 26, 2009
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