Norman Louis Larsen
T/5 in 3132nd Signal Service Co : 4th Platoon
ASN#37566081
Born 1924 in MN, Died 2001
County of residence at enlistment: Ramsey County, MN
Other residence(s): St. Paul, MN; Kingman, AZ; Newport, WA; Coon Rapids, MN
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: student
College education before the war: Gustavus Adolphus College
Norman Larsen was born on September 30, 1924 in St. Paul, MN, the third of four children. His parents had both been born in Norway; his father was a blacksmith with the railroad.
Norman graduated from high school and went on to study at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. He was a freshman there when he registered for the draft on December 18, 1942, and he enlisted six months later, on June 7, 1943.
He eventually found his way into the 3132 Signal Service Company, and went to Europe with the unit. He was discharged on November 25, 1945 with the rank of T/5.
He married Gertrude Ostergren in June, 1946. By the spring of 1950, the couple was living in Kingman, AZ, and Norman was working as an electrical engineer on construction projects. But by October, Norman and Gertude had divorced in Minnesota.
A year and a half later, on April 5, 1952, Norman married Canadian Evelyn Petley in Coeur d'Alene, ID. At the time they were living an hour away in Newport, WA.
Norman and Evelyn became the parents of four: Mark, Joan, Jon, and Jeanne. They divorced in 1973. In 1977 he married Gertrude Baumgartner Remick who had been a member of the Navy WAVEs in World War II.
Little else is known of his life or work. He may have spent time as an engineer with 3M in Arizona. His obituary reports that he was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Anoka, MN and of the Coon Rapids, MN American Legion and VFW.
He died on November 28, 2001 while living in Coon Rapids and is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN.
Sources:
1930 census
1940 census
1942 draft card
1943 enlistment record
1946 marriage license application in Minneapolis Morning Tribune (MN)
1950 census
1950 divorce record
1952 marriage record
1973 divorce record
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1081/records/34221?tid=69657260&pid=422063872455&ssrc=pt
1977 marriage record
2001 Find a Grave record
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/66037207/norman-louis-larsen
2001 Social Security death index
2001 US Veterans' Gravesites
2001 obituary in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (MN)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/195667105/?match=1&terms=norman%20l%20larsen