S/Sgt Erik Christiansen was one of the more than 30,000 Danish-Americans who were mobilized during the Second World War. He was trained as a flight engineer and served in the Ninth Air Force. He was killed in action on 23 December 1944 during an attack on the Ahrweiler railroad viaduct.
John Friis Lauesen was born in Denmark, but naturalised in the USA before the Second World War. He lost his life in September 1944, when his P-51 was shot down by flak over Germany. He was one of three brothers, all pilots, who was killed during the war.
Shortly after D-Day, the first V1 flying bombs hit London. Three Danish fighter pilots were involved in the fighter defence against the flying bombs in the summer of 1944.
About three years ago I carried out a search on the World War 2 Nominal Roll website (of Australia) finding 38 individuals born in Denmark who served in the Royal Australian Air Force during the Second World War. Ever since I have been researching these individuals trying to find out how many of these who were in fact still Danish when the enlisted in the Australian forces.
