T/4 Otto Madsen
(1908 - 1974)
Profile
T/4 Otto Madsen was born in Denmark in 1908. He was working as a radio repairman as the war broke out. He enlisted in March 1943 and became worked on fighter control equipment in mainland USA during the war.
Otto Madsen was born on 24 March 1908 in Nederby in Trans parish, to Mads Nederby Madsen and Else Marie Madsen (née Mortensen). [1] Madsen’s father was a householder and fisherman in the little community in the most western part of Jutland. Madsen grew up in Trans and in 1925 he was a farmhand at a nearby farm.[2]
Radio repair man in Providence
Madsen emigrated to the United States in 1927, arriving in New York onboard the SS Hellig Olav on 1 March 1927. [3] In 1930, he lived with his brother’s family in Providence, Rhode Island, where he was employed in his brother’s bakery. [4] His brother Mads Kirkeby Madsen, who was 18 years older than him, had emigrated to the United States in 1917 and had been naturalized in 1924.[5]
By 1940, Madsen was still living in Providence. He was self-employed in radio repairs.[6]
Military Service
Madsen enlisted as a private (31291774) in the US Army in Providence on 18 March 1943. He was not yet a citizen at that time. [7] He was one of 67 enlisted men assigned from Detachment 859th Signals Service Corps (Aviation) Allenhurst, New Jersey, to Robins Field in Georgia in August 1943. He had been promoted to Technician Fifth Grade at that point.[8]
On 16 September 1943 he had been promoted to Technician Fifth Grade and was assigned to the 1st Radar and VHF Installation & Maintenance Unit (Aviation) at Robins Field in Georgia. [9] He was naturalized as a United States citizen a few months later, on 22 December 1943.[10]
A few days later, on 27 December 1943, Madsen was in charge of a contingent of enlisted men from the unit sent to Spokane Air Depot in Seattle, Washington, to perform maintenance on SCS 2 and SCS 3 equipment. During the temporary duty the men were attached to 55th Fighter Control Squadron.[11] The unit was part of the Signal Corps serving with the USAAF.
The SCS 2 and SCS 3 were two different configurations of control net systems designed to facilitate control of a number of squadrons of aircraft both grund-to-air, air-to-ground transmission and direction finding. [12]
After the War
Madsen was released from service on 8 November 1945. [13] He returned to Providence and radio sales and repairs after the war. [14] He married Virginia G. Roberts in New York City in 1951. [15] He died in Providence on 8 January 1974.[16]
Endnotes
[1] DNA: Parish register, Trans sogn.
[2] DNA: Census of Denmark 1911, 1916, 1921 and 1925.
[3] Ancestry: Georgia, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1794-1993.
[4] Ancestry: 1930 United States Federal Census.
[5] Ancestry: Rhode Island, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1802-1945; Rhode Island, U.S., Indexes to Naturalization Records, 1890-1992.
[6] Ancestry: U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 for Otto Madsen.
[7] Ancestry: U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946.
[8] NARA: RG 64, Morning Reports, Morning Reports for August 1943: Roll 402 (2 of 4) (NAID: 444649629).
[9] NARA: RG 64, Morning Reports, Morning Reports for September 1943: Roll 488 (2 of 4) (NAID: 451385371).
[10] Ancestry: Georgia, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1794-1993.
[11] NARA: RG 64, Morning Reports, Morning Reports for December 1943: Roll 116 (1 of 3) (NAID: 458010218).
[12] Signal Section Air Service Command, VHF Fighter Control Equipment Handbook, October 1943.
[13] Ancestry: U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010.
[14] Ancestry: U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995.
[15] Ancestry: New York, New York, Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018.
[16] Ancestry: U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1861-1985.