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Swedzinski, Ray (1921-2000)
id58322 · Folder · February 3, 1990
Part of World War II Veterans Collection

https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/worldwar_oh/33/

Biographical Information: Raymond (Swede) Swedzinski was born in Taunton, Minnesota on March 6, 1921. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corp following the World War II draft and later completed his training as a B-24 co-pilot. Swedzinski was assigned to the 15th<span> </span>Air Force stationed in Spinazzola, Italy where he completed 37 missions between April and July 1944. During his last mission on July 19, 1944, Swedzinski and his crew were shot down and spent 42 days behind enemy lines with the French resistance. Raymond returned to the United States as a heavily decorated veteran. In July 1945, he married his wife Irene in which they raised four children together. They lived in Taunton and farmed. Swedzinski remained an active member of his community until his death on July 26, 2000. He is buried at the Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Cemetery in Taunton. Swedzinski received the following awards for his military service: Distinguished Flying Cross, Victory WWII, Air Medal w/ Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, European Theater Operations, and the French Cour de Gurre.

Transcript Summary: In an interview conducted on February 3, 1990, Raymond (Swede) Swedzinski discussed with his life prior to the World War II draft and his fascination for aircrafts. As the draft approached Swedzinski knew his draft number was approaching, so he joined the Air Force Cadets to learn to fly. Swedzinski recalled his initial failure of the eye exam, resulting in becoming an aircraft mechanic. He was not satisfied with performing maintenance and took the eye exam a second time and passed. Swedzinski detailed his experiences during training, earning his wings, his assignment, and flight course to Italy, as well as his crew in which he was assigned co-pilot. In Italy, Swedinski’s crew was assigned to the 460th and the 762nd Bomb Squadron. Here he recalled missions to bomb strategic German factories and other important Axis strongholds. Swedzinski recalled in much detail about the day his crew was shot down over France in July 1944 and the events that followed. He and his crew spent 42 days in hiding with the French resistance. They were finally liberated after the Allied forces pushed the Germans out of France from the south. The crew made their way back to their base where they were sent back to the United States. After some rest, Swedzinski spent the rest of World War II flying gunners and became an instructor. At the end of the interview, Swedzinski discussed the Vietnam War and the draft evaders.

Interview by David Overy

First tape missing.

Includes archival material
Swearingen, Russell (1914-2001)
id58321 · Folder · July 14, 1990
Part of World War II Veterans Collection

https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/worldwar_oh/21/

Biographical Information: Russell Leroy Swearingen was born June 27, 1914 in Groton, South Dakota to William and Cora (Carper) Swearingen. After moving to the Brainerd area and joining the National Guard, he married Eleanore Hilda Palmer on June 30, 1939, with whom he would have three children. He trained at Camp Ripley with the 34th Divisional Tank Company of the Minnesota National Guard from Brainerd before his unit was federalized in January 1941, becoming Company A of the 194th Tank Battalion. After training at Fort Lewis, they were sent to defend Clark Air Base in the Philippines as part of the Provisional Tank Group. As a staff sergeant and chief mechanic in the battalion Headquarters Company, he helped coordinate the withdrawal of American forces down the Bataan Peninsula when Japanese forces invaded the islands. Captured alongside most of the American forces, he became a prisoner of war and survived the Bataan Death March. He mustered out as a first lieutenant and was awarded the Bronze Star. He worked as an electrician after the war and was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers local 292 of Minneapolis, the American Legion of Deerwood, and the VFW of Brainerd. He passed away on October 23, 2001, and is buried next to Eleanore at Lakewood Cemetery in Crosby, Minnesota.

Transcript Summary: Russell Swearingen discussed his World War II service as a chief mechanic and prisoner of war in the Philippines. He briefly described his training in the 34th Divisional Tank Company of the Minnesota National Guard from Brainerd, with which he served in the Philippines during World War II when it was federalized as part of the 194th Tank Battalion. The bulk of the first half of the interview focuses on the Battle of Bataan and the events leading up to it. Swearingen described the roles he played as a staff sergeant and chief mechanic in the Headquarters Company of the 194th, which included helping coordinate the withdrawal of American tanks down the Bataan Peninsula. The second half focused on his experiences as a prisoner of war following the American surrender on Bataan. As a survivor of the Bataan Death March, Swearingen described the conditions he and other POWs faced, including inadequate food and water, disease, and brutal punishment by Japanese guards. He also describes his final liberation from Japan at the end of the war and the ways in which being a POW affected him and others, psychologically and physically, including a stress-induced ulcer he developed that the Veterans Affairs hospital had failed to diagnose.

Interview by David Overy