Return Bodies of Jensen, Siddens
Bluff Men Killed in Alaskan Theater
Bodies of Lt. Col. Jack K. Siddens and Pvt. Arthur O. Jensen of Council Bluffs have been returned to the United States from Alaska aboard the army transport Honda Knot, the department of the army announced Friday.
Col. Siddens, 28, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Siddens, now of Fort Dodge, was killed in action in the Aleutians islands on May 19, 1943*. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson high school in 1932 and the University of Iowa in 1936. He was an outstanding athlete at Tee Jay, and active in forensic activities. Siddens was a major in ROTC.
In Regular Army.
At Iowa, he was also active in ROTC and was commissioned in the regular army upon graduation. He was the first of 55 Thomas Jefferson men to die in world war II. Col. Siddens was an infantry officer.
Surviving are his parents; two brothers, Charles and Robert, and a sister, Mrs. Dean Moser, all of Fort Dodge; his grandmother, Mrs. Frances Saunders, and an aunt, Mrs. E. P. Woodring, of Council Bluffs. The Siddens family formerly lived at 2200 Avenue D here.
[Portions of article regarding Pvt. Arthur O. Jensen have been omitted but may be found on his individual webpage within this website.]
* Lt. Siddens’ death date is May 29, 1943 on his gravestone.
Source: The Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Council Bluffs, Friday, September 03, 1948, Page 9
Obituaries
Lt. Col. Jack K. Siddens
Funeral services for Lt. Col. Jack Kenneth Siddens, 28, killed in action in May, 1943 in the Aleutian island campaign, will be Monday at 11 a. m. at Woodring’s chapel. The Rev. C. Carson Bransby of First Presbyterian church will officiate.
Rainbow post No. 2 of the American Legion will be in charge of military rites at the grave in Fairview cemetery.
Source: The Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Council Bluffs, Monday, October 10, 1948, Page 9
