LARSEN MILITARY PAGE

Larsen family members who have served in the U.S. Military.

WORLD WAR II

Joseph Havertz, Jr.
     Lieutenant Colonel

John A. Larsen (Coast Guard)
     Radioman 2nd class: USS Cambria (APA 36)
     16 Sept. 1943 - 20 March 1946
     Invasions of Saipan, Tinian, Leyte, Luzon, Okinawa
     Awards:
          American Campaign Medal
          Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with 4 bronze stars)
          World War II Victory Medal
          Philippine Liberation Ribbon (with 2 bronze stars)
          Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
          Honorable Service Lapel Button
USS CAMBRIA Home Page

Phil Robbins (Navy)- Seabee Carpenter - Naval Reserve; February 6, 1943 (Ch. Carp. CEC-USNR) Battle of New Guinea In charge of Mare Island electricity

Thomas William Larsen (Army) 10th Mountain Division 85th Infantry Regiment, Headquarters 3rd Batallion, Company I. Killed in action: 20 Feb. 1945; Reva Ridge, Mt. Belvedere, Italy The division entered combat on January 28, 1945 in the North Apennine Mountains of Italy. The division faced German positions arrayed along the 5 mile long Monte Belvedere-Monte della Torraccia ridge. Other divisions had attempted to assault Mount Belvedere three times, even holding it temporarily, but none had succeeded. To get to Mount Belvedere the division first had to take a ridge line to the west known to the Americans as the Riva Ridge. The Germans on Riva Ridge protected the approaches to Mount Belvedere. The assault on Riva Ridge was the task of the 1st Battalion and F Company, 2d Battalion, 86th Mountain Infantry. After much scouting, it was decided the assault would be at night, a 1,500-vertical-assent. The Germans considered the ridge to be impossible to scale and manned it with only one battalion of mountain troops. The attack by the 86th on February 18, 1945, was a complete success and an unwelcome surprise to the Germans. Mount Belvedere was assaulted next. Belvedere was heavily manned and protected with minefields. Shortly after the 86th assault on the Riva Ridge, the 85th and 87th Regiments made a bayonet attack without covering artillery fire on Belvedere beginning on February 19th. Again the surprise of the assault was successful and after a hard fight, the peak was captured. Realizing the importance of the peak, the Germans made seven counterattacks over two days. After the first three days of intense combat, the division lost 850 casualties to include 195 dead. The 10th had captured over 1,000 prisoners. The 10th was now in a position to breach the German's Apennine Mountain line, take Highway 65 and open the way to the Po Valley. (Taken from above web site). Casualty Lists

OTHER MILITARY SERVICE

Utah War (1857)
Christian John Larsen

SEPTEMBER, 1857
     30th.  I was enrolled in Chauncy West's company of militia and ordered with the
company to go out in defense of our people, to meet the so-called Buchanan'a Army.
We laid in camp and drilled till the 19th of October, when we received orders to start
north and so we marched through Cache Valley and finally reached March Valley the
25th.  We were under drill every day to some extent.  We received orders to return
and marched back, through Malad Valley and Brigham City to Ogden, where we
arrived Nov. 2nd and were discharged until further orders.

NOVEMBER, 1857
     9th.  We received orders to proceed to Echo Canyon at 12 o'clock and we soon
were on our way up Weber Canyon. A good deal of snow had fallen and it was very
cold, and we reached Echo Canyon between 3 and 4 p.m. and then tried to make
ourselves as comfortable as we could under the circumstances.

DECEMBER, 1857
     1st.   This day, after we had been drawn up in line and had been addressed by
General D. Wells and Apostle John Taylor and Col. C. West, by way of encouragemer
we commenced our return and reached Ogden and home Dec. 3rd, and all were glad
to be home again, as it was very cold.

During the remainder of the winter. Brother B.F. Cummings and I acted as home
missionaries in Weber Stake and we held meetings nearly every night in one place or
another in Weber Stake and we had an enjoyable time.

1858
     In the spring we got word from Pres. B. Young that all the people should move
south.  I was requested to remain with a company of ten men to remain and watch
over the property, and two other companies of 10 men likewise remained in town with
instructions to burn everything if it was necessary.  I was appointed captain of these
companies. According to these orders, my brother Lauritz moved his family and
mine first to Salt Lake City, and later on to Springville, where I found my family
in very straightened circumstances when we were permitted to return to our own
homes. 

Black Hawk War
Christian John Larsen

AUGUST, 1864
     13th, Tuesday.  The previous day I had been cutting hay with a scythe and my
garments had become wet from sweating, and I, therefore, asked my wife to let
me have another garment, but she told me that she had only a new one but had not
got it finished with the proper marks, and I therefore, did not take it or put it on;
we always traveled in companies but I had some extra work this morning to do and
when I got ready and started, I had no company except my 9 year old song but we
reached two other teams before getting to the most dangerous part of our way
through the cedars and up hill over the range, before we could reach the meadow,
and I was, therefore, behind the rest of the company.  When I had just reached the
top of the last hill, the report of guns reached us, and looking back, we saw some
Indians, only 5 or 6 rods from us.  I had my gun fastened to the upright ladder on
my hay rack, and was myself standing upright, when looking to the left, I saw about
15 or 20 Indians not more than two rods away from my wagon;  the other two wagons
were on the right of the road. I shall not attempt to describe my feelings and the
thoughts that flashed through my mind during those moments and while I was getting
my lines untied and my black snake whip in my hand, there were two of the Indians
trying to get ahead of my team to stop it, but failing in that they then fired 7 or 8
shots at once and when none of them hit, I felt perfectly calm and said to my son:
"Stick to the wagon; the Lord is not going to let us be killed. " They followed us on
by here till all had untied their guns at us, the last two shot at my son and he felt the
bullet graze his hair, but was not hurt.  When we reached the hay meadows, we
found that many teams from Spring City, Mount Pleasant and Moroni had stopped as
the men had heard the firing and they then began investigating if any one was hurt,
and it was found out that one bullet had broken the butt end of my gun, another bullet
had settled in my binding ladder, one bullet had cut my lorse lines, which I held
in my hands right under my hair, and one bullet had penetrated my vest, close to
my left vest pocket; all the shots were fired from the right side of the wagon, and
the shots were fired from so close range that where they struck the powder marks
in black were visible in every case.
I have always felt very thankful to the Lord for this wonderful protection of our
lives, and I am even willing to acknowledge that I sometimes have considered it as
a token or witness to those who had accused me of a crime that would have merited
death, if I had been guilty; and I hope that I have thereby learned to follow the advice
of the Apostle Paul  "To shun even that which may have the appearance of sin."

Black Hawk War

 

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Dennis Larsen

utahdlarsen@sisna.com
10890 Bohm Place
Sandy, UT 84094
United States