With The Colors
Mrs. Goodman Hundsness received a letter Monday from Major K.A. Damke, a friend of Sgt. Theodore Hundsness, a marine, giving the details of how Theodore met death. Major Damke is of the U.S.S. Phoenix.
Sgt. Hundsness was a member of the same medical detachment for more than two years that Major Damke was. Hundsness had volunteered to secure medical aid for a friend and companion of his at the time of his death. It is thought that Theodore had slipped on some rocks near the shore and fell into the water, resulting in his drowning. He had probably stunned himself. Several days later, his body was recovered and interment was in a U.S. Army cemetery. Sgt. Hundsness’ high standards and performances of duty will always be an example to the men who served with him.
Source: Estherville, Vindicator and Republican, April 29, 1943
Iowa’s World War II Honor Roll
These Iowans, like the ones pictured in this section last Sunday, have given their lives for their country. They came from all sections of the state, from all walks of life, and they rest today in strange and far away but never-to-be forgotten places. The final line beneath each photograph tells the geographical area in which the man was serving. Additional pictures of Iowans who have been killed in combat will be carried on future Sundays.
Source: The Des Moines Register, Sunday, December 12, 1943 (photo included of Theodore L. Hundsness)
80 Kossuth Men Officially Listed As Casualties In War
FIRST RELEASE OF STATE HISTORICAL DEATH SUMMARIES
Eighty men from Kossuth county lost their lives while in the service of their country in World War II.
WAR DEAD.
Hundsness, Theodore L., Sgt.
Swea City, Ia.
Drowned in naval battle with Japs 1-23-43.
Parents: Mr. and Mrs. Goodman Hundsness, 321 2nd ave. N, Estherville, Ia.
Source: The Algona Upper DesMoines, Tuesday, January 22, 1946 – page 7.
Theodore Leonard Hundsness was born Jan. 24, 1917 to Goodman and Lena Erickson Hundsness. He died Jan. 1943 and is buried in Harrison Township Cemetery, Swea City, IA.
Sgt. Hundsness served in World War II with the U.S. Marine Corps, participating in combat operations throughout 1942, escorting convoys from Pearl Harbor to Australia, operating in Australian waters, the Indian ocean and the waters south of New Guinea where he was declared KIA during Jan. 1943.
Sources: ancestry.com
