Woodbury County

T/Sgt. Robert A. Olsen

 

 

 

MEN AND WOMEN IN SERVICE

Robert A. Olsen, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. Olsen, 1520 Dale Street; William E. Bergman, whose wife Nancy lives at 1665 Willis Avenue, and Private Elmer C. Colt, son of Mrs. Lucile Colt, 5307 Military Road, have arrived at Scott Field, Illinois, where they will take a course in radio operation and mechanics to train them for duty as members of bombing crews.

Source: The Sioux City Journal, May 11, 1943

Men and Women In Service

Private First Class Robert A. Olsen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Anton Olsen, 1520 Dale Street, has completed a course in radio school at Scott field, Arizona and has been sent to gunnery school at Kingman, Arizona. 
 

Source: The Sioux City Journal, October 15, 1943

IN UNIFORM

T. Sgt. Robert A. Olsen, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. Olsen, 1520 Dale street, has arrived at army air forces redistribution station No. 2, Miami Beach, Fla., for reassignment after completing a tour of duty overseas.  Sgt. Olsen flew 24 missions as radio operator and gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress in the European theater of operations, for which he was awarded the air medal with three oak leaf clusters.  For wounds received in combat, he was awarded the purple heart.

Source: The Sioux City Journal, February 15, 1945


Robert A. (Bob) Olsen was born Apr. 6, 1924 to Anton and Bertha Hanson Olsen. He died Apr. 7, 2013 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Sioux City, IA.

Bob served in World War II with the U.S. Army Air Corps as Radio Operator and gunner on the B-17 “Mission Belle” and was awarded the Purple Heart after being shot down on a mission to Hamburg, Germany.

Source: ancestry.com