Cpl Carl William Jensen
(1909 - 1993)
Profile
Cpl Carl William Jensen was one of the Danish nationals serving with the USAAF during the Second World War. He enlisted in August 1944, four months before being naturalised.
Carlo William Jensen was born in Copenhagen on 4 December 1909, to waiter Jens Christian Frederik Jensen and Nathalie Marie Jensen (née Larsen).[1]
In late 1925, at the time of the Danish census, Jensen had joined the merchant navy.[2] In April 1926, he signed on as cabin boy onboard the MS Oscar II. He deserted the ship as it arrived in New York on 23 April 1923.[3] He settled in New York eventually and married Veronica Elizabeth Meyers on 23 June 1936.[4] At the time of the draft in 1940, he was employed by Midtown Chevrolet on Manhatten.[5]
Jensen enlisted as private (42177899) in the US Army in New York City on 8 August 1944.[6] He was not yet a citizen at the time. He was naturalised as a United States citizen four months later on 21 December 1944. At the time, he was attached to the 4051st AAF Base Unit, Normoyle Field in Texas.[7] There is very little information on his service. He was released from service on 5 April 1946.[8] He had been promoted to Corporal at the time of release.[9]
Jensen returned to New York, where he was employed as a bus mechanic after the war. He served in the Korean War as well. Jensen died on 20 December 1993.[10]
Endnotes
[1] DNA: Parish register, David sogn.
[2] DNA: 1925 Census of Denmark.
[3] Ancestry: New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957.
[4] Ancestry: New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937.
[5] Ancestry: U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.
[6] Ancestry: U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946.
[7] Ancestry: Texas, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1852-1991 for Carl William Jensen.
[8] Ancestry: U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010.
[9] Ancestry: U.S., Veterans' Gravesites, ca.1775-2019.
[10] Obituary for Carl William Jensen, The Commercial Appeal, 22 December 1993, p. 14.