Wedell, Albert (1911-2000)

https://reflections.mndigital.org/catalog/stc:9873#/kaltura_audio

Biographical Information: Albert Wedell was born September 29, 1911 in Milaca to Andrew and Hilma Wedell. He spent most of his life around Milaca, though his family briefly relocated to Amery, Wisconsin, when he was 19, and he worked in the Dakotas as a farmhand in the late 1930s. He enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and trained in California. He was assigned to the repair division of the U.S.S. Louisville, on which he served in the Aleutian Islands and the South Pacific. While in the Navy, Wedell married Velma Swenson on March 14, 1945, and was honorably discharged on October 27, 1945. After the war, he ran a dairy farm near Milaca for 45 years and served on the Chase Brook School Board, the local telephone and creamery boards, and the county ASCA. Wedell passed away on March 16, 2000 and was buried in Borgholm Cemetery in Bock, Minnesota. He was survived by his wife, two sons, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Transcript Summary: Albert Wedell described his experiences in repair division on the U.S.S. Louisville during World War II. He summarized his experiences while training in Southern California and his service near the Alaskan Aleutian Islands and in the South Pacific. He discussed the armaments of the ship, the conditions aboard, men he met in the crew, and some of the attacks on the ship by Japanese ships and aircraft. Wedell also shared some of his thoughts on the training he received, the quality of Japanese servicemen, and the benefits of military service.

Interview by Richard Olson

Includes archival material