Hans Helmiksen Haaland was born Oct. 1, 1907 to Helmik and Gurina Varland Haaland. He died May 9, 1996 and is buried in the Radcliffe Cemetery, Radcliffe, IA.
Petty Officer Haaland served with the U.S. Navy Seabees,6th Naval Construction Battalion in World War II. He was engaged in the defense and occupation of the Guadalcanal and the occupation of Okinawa Shima and decorated with the Presidential Unit Citation.
His Obituary:
Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City, IA - May 14, 1996
Hans Haaland, 88, of the Grand Avenue Care Center in Ames and a former Jewell resident, died May 9, 1996, at the Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames. Funeral services were held at 1:30 p.m. today at Boeke Funeral Home in Radcliffe. Burial was at Radcliffe Cemetery.
Hans Helmiksen Haaland, son of Helmik and Gurina Varland Haaland, was born Oct. 1, 1907, in Time, Norway. He was educated by attending elementary and high school in Time, Norway. At the age of 17, he departed from Stavanger, Norway, arriving at Ellis Island in the United States. From there, he traveled from New York to Radcliffe. He resided at the Jans and Jetta Varland farm, two miles north of Radcliffe. He moved into Radcliffe and worked for several years as a carpenter with Haktor Larwick. On March 21, 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Seabees and served exclusively with the U.S. Navy—6th Naval Construction Battalion. He was engaged in the defense and occupation of the Guadalcanal and the occupation of Okinawa Shima. He was decorated with a Presidential Unit Citation. He was honorably discharged on Oct. 28, 1945, as a Carpenter’s Mate First Class. After the service, he returned to Radcliffe. He had made frequent trips back to Norway. He acquired a farm west of Jewell, where he lived until last December, when ill health forced him to leave. He was then put in the care of the Grand Avenue Care Center in Ames.
He is survived by brothers, John of Fairhaven, Minn., Godfrey, Jorgen, Henry and Inge, all of Norway; sisters, Kristina Fuglestad, Ingrid Fitge and Gudbjorg Skretting, al of Norway; two nephews and one niece, both in the states; along with numerous nephews and nieces in Norway. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Mr. Haaland was a past member of the American Legion.
Source: ancestry.com
