30 May 2022

In memoriam, Lieut. L. Stanley Finseth, 1920-1943


Born Jan 31, 1920 and raised on the family farm at Kenyon, MN, my uncle Levi Stanley Finseth graduated from Byron High School in 1938. He then enrolled at St. Olaf college and later enlisted in the Air Force in 1942. As navigator of a bomber crew he flew 35 missions in North Africa, but died with his crew when their plane was brought down by a combination of enemy action and friendly fire over Switzerland on October 1, 1943.

Memorial gifts in his honor were directed to St. Olaf's WCAL, the first listener-supported public radio station. In 1946, when I was born, my parents named me after him.

Reposted from 2013 for Memorial Day, 2022, with the addition of a couple other photos from the archives:


Levi Stanley (identified as "baby"), next to my mother and the oldest sister Ona on their farm in 1921.  They will come of age in the Great Depression of the 1930s, then do their parts for their country in WWII.


Standing next to his proud parents, Knute Olaus and Selma, as he goes to St. Olaf College.  Knute Olaus' father was one of the Norwegian immigrant farmers who contributed funds to purchase the land in Northfield for the establishment of the college.


A portrait from those college years, which were interrupted by the onset of the war.


At a Chicago airport, visiting family on a stopover during his deployment. 


The obituary prepared by his family for St. Olaf and the local paper.  Such a waste - as all wartime deaths are.

13 comments:

  1. Cathy MMay 27, 2013 at 9:04 AM

    Every time I see a photo of the men who fought in WWII I think of how very young they were. The fate of the world rested on such young shoulders. I guess that's always the way of war.

    This was a lovely tribute to your uncle.

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    1. MinnesotastanMay 27, 2013 at 9:13 AM

      And there's an irony which I didn't spell out in the post. My understanding is that his plane was severely damaged by German forces, then turned back toward neutral Switzerland, where it was shot down by the Swiss...

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    2. ChemsolverMay 27, 2013 at 2:07 PM

      Switzerland was the target of a few allied bombing raids during WWII. There have been (unconfirmed) rumors that some of them were targeting industries delivering critical materials for the war effort to the Germans (bombing of Maag, manufacturer of high precision gears)and being a little bid too friendly with Nazi Germany at that time.
      The official version was that the bombers lost their bearing in bad weather and high winds and so on. I guess that is possible.
      http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliierte_Bombenabw%C3%BCrfe_auf_die_Schweiz
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombings_of_Switzerland_in_World_War_II

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    3. MinnesotastanMay 27, 2013 at 2:12 PM

      Interesting. Thank you. I'll try to do some research on this flight.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousMay 27, 2013 at 7:41 PM

    The Greatest Generation.

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    1. MinnesotastanMay 27, 2013 at 8:00 PM

      I've heard the phrase (especially from Tom Brokaw), but I don't know that I agree that that generation was any greater than for example the one before it.

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  3. AnonymousMay 27, 2013 at 9:02 PM

    Thank you for posting. What a good guy.

    The mom from Chicago

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  4. NathanMay 28, 2013 at 1:02 PM

    If I had to guess, I'd say that 2nd Lt. Finseth was in the 99th Bomb Group. Just based on my own research on my grandfather, a copilot on a B-17 in the 15th AF, 483rd BG(H), 816th Squadron. He didn't arrive in North Africa until late 1943 or so. He had many stories of harrowing missions across the Alps (they ended up in Foggia, Italy, and flew over the Alps, across France, into Germany, and back the same way, mostly to avoid Austria and Switzerland). His group shared planes and an airfield with the 99th BG(H).

    It is sobering to think that so very many men were topi young to buy themselves a drink, but were carrying the free world on their shoulders.

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  5. JimMay 29, 2013 at 4:13 AM

    As we say in my country, "Lest we forget". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_of_Remembrance)

    With all due honour and respect, i hope you won't be offended by my saying that this photograph adds further weight to my impression that you seem to be a member of an all together strikingly handsome family!

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  6. SteveGinGTOJune 5, 2013 at 1:47 AM

    Stan -

    In the Wiki article on bombing of Switzerland during the war, there is this mention:

    "On 1 October 1943, bombs were released by the USAAF over Samedan leading to property damage."

    Same day. It sounds like that might likely be the raid.

    No source given.

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  7. CrowboyMay 30, 2022 at 11:44 AM

    Heart breaking. Thanks for reminding me to put out my flag. I never like to see it "owned" by the Trump voters of my area.

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  8. WilliamRocketMay 30, 2022 at 7:48 PM

    So easy to think World War II was ancient history. My father's two brothers lost their lives as airmen fighting the Germans. To his dying day my father would have nothing to do with Germans or anything German.

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  9. AnonymousJune 1, 2022 at 1:13 AM

    So Knute's father was one of those immigrants coming over to take our jobs but only managed to help start a college. I think that's a pretty common scenario, seems those immigrants got easily sidetracked into doing selfless things for the community.
    xoxoxoBruce

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