Sgt Edith Johanne Kirstine Juhl (née Larsen)
(1908 - 1995)
Profile
Sgt Edith J. K. Juhl (née Larsen) enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in 1944. She was one of twenty-nine Danish born WACs during the Second World War.
Edith Johanne Kirstine Larsen was born in Store Heddinge, Denmark, on 18 December 1908, to Christian Larsen and Anna Oline Larsen (née Jensen).[1] The family later moved to Odense, where she attended Odense Cathedral School.[2]
The family emigrated to Canada in 1924, arriving in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on SS United States on 19 April 1924.[3] They family lived in Calgary for three years before emigrating to the United States in 1927, arriving in Eastport, Idaho, on 7 March 1927.[4]
Larsen visited Denmark in 1933 leaving Los Angeles, on 15 April and returning to New York on 6 October 1933.[5] While in Denmark, she seems to have en married to Herbert E. Launch (of Santa Barbara) in Odense, Denmark. It is unclear from the marriage certificate, if the marriage was proceeding were concluded.[6] However, when she returned to the United States, the couple returned together, and her name was recorded as Larsen-Lausch.
Larsen enlisted as Private (A-905042) in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in San Francisco on 3 March 1944. Her civil occupation at the time was categorised as stenographer and typist.[7] The details of her service is not known and, therefore, it is not possible to say if she served as an Army Air Force WAC. She was discharged on 25 October 1945, and had at that point been promoted to Sergeant.[8]
She married Alex Juhl on 8 September 1945 upon his discharge from the Air Force and hers from the army.[9] Alex Juhl was born in Denmark as well and served as a Senior Sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Force from 26 November 1940 to 1 September 1945.[10]
He served overseas in Algeria, Italy and France.[11]
Edith Juhl died on 22 February 1995 in Atascadero, California.[12]
Endnotes
[1] DNA: Parish register, Store Heddinge sogn.
[2] Obituary for Edith Juhl, The Tribune, 22 February 1995, p. 18.
[3] Ancestry: Canada, Ocean Arrivals (Form 30A), 1919-1924.
[4] Ancestry: U.S., Naturalization Records, 1840-1957.
[5] Ancestry: New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957.
[6] Ancestry: Denmark, Civil Marriages, 1851-1961.
[7] Ancestry: U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946.
[8] Ancestry: U.S., Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2019.
[9] Obituary for Edith Juhl, The Tribune, 22 February 1995, p. 18.
[10] Ancestry: U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006.
[11] Obituary for Axel Juhl, The Tribune, 18 Dec 1991, p. 28.[12] Ancestry: U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current.