Pvt Erik Simonsen
(1917 - 1968)
Profile
Erik Simonsen was one of the Danes serving in the Royal Norwegian Air Force during the Second World War. He served for a brief period only, and later joined the US Army.
Erik Simonsen was born in Copenhagen on 14 May 1917,[1] the son of high court attorney Axel Simonson and Clara Ieanna Simonsen (née Henriques). He was born into a family of attorneys, but did not follow this line of profession himself.[2]
Simonsen left Denmark in late 1939, arriving in New York on-board SS Stavangerfjord on 1 December 1939.[3] Simonsen worked at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City in 1940.[4] According to the records, he left the United States for Canada on 28 November 1941.[5]
His career in the Norwegian forces in Canada was shot lived however. He returned to the United States from Canada on 7 January 1942.[6] He enlisted in the US Army on 13 October 1942 (32527228).[7] Eight months later, as he submitted his petition to become a US Citizen, he served in the in the 4SCU in Charleston, South Carolina.[8]
Endnotes
[1] Ancestry: South Carolina, Naturalization Records, 1868-1991.
[2] Hjorth-Nielsen, H. (1941). Danske Sagførere under Loven af 26. Maj 1868.
[3] Ancestry: New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957.
[4] Ancestry: U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.
[5] Ancestry: U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ancestry: U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946.
[8] Ancestry: South Carolina, Naturalization Records, 1868-1991.