Sergeant John Lincoln Haglund, Army serial number 37577790, was born at Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota on February 12, 1925. His nickname was Buddy. His parents were Knute Martin Harold Haglund (4 Oct 1898 – 28 Jan 1989), who was born in Sweden; and Corinne A. (Carlson) Haglund (1 May 1900 – 2 Feb 1984), who was born in Minnesota. He had two younger brothers, Harold L. Haglund (24 Jun 1928 – 14 Dec 1987) and Dr. William A. Haglund (abt 1930 – unk).

Knute Haglund immigrated from Sweden in 1916. He embarked on the ship Stockholm at Gothenburg, Sweden, and arrived at Ellis Island, Port of New York, on August 18, 1916. In 1918 he lived at 2112 16th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota; his nearest relative is listed as Elsa Haglund, who lived at the same address. By January 1920 Knute Haglund lived at Saint Anthony, Hennepin County, Minnesota in the household of his future in-laws, John Carlson (abt 1871 – Nov 1948) and Ida J. Carlson (abt 1877 – Feb 1950), and their daughter Corinne Carlson.

Knute Haglund and Corinne Carlson married by 1924. In 1930 they lived at Saint Anthony, Hennepin County, Minnesota, and John and Ida Carlson lived with them. In 1940 the family lived on a farm on Highway 8 in Rose Township, Ramsey County, Minnesota. (This was Old Highway 8, Roseville, Minnesota, which lies near the border between Ramsey and Hennepin Counties, close to St. Anthony.) His father was a vegetable farmer on a truck farm.

He registered for the draft at New Brighton, Ramsey County, Minnesota on February 12, 1943. He was 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighed 148 pounds, and had blue eyes and blonde hair. At that time he was a student at Edison High School in Minneapolis, where he graduated in 1943. He entered the U.S. Army from Hennepin County, Minnesota. His home of record was Route 12, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. He was engaged to be married when he went overseas.

He completed Army Air Forces aerial gunnery training and was assigned to the heavy bomber crew of Second Lieutenant Charlton A. Deuschle. The Deuschle crew completed B-17 operational training at Sioux City, Iowa in June 1944. They deployed from Kearney, Nebraska in a B-17 via the north Atlantic ferry route on June 15, 1944, and arrived in England on June 30, 1944. They inprocessed at the Combat Crew Replacement Center at Bovingdon, England in early July 1944, and were assigned to the 838th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group on July 24, 1944. The 487th Bomb Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe. Here is Lt Deuschle's crew roster on August 5, 1944:

B-17G 43-38007 – 838th Bomb Squadron

• Deuschle, Charlton A – 2/Lt – Pilot – POW

• Steffens, Eugene F – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA

• Underwood, Allan B – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA

• Gregory, Jesse E – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA

• Late, Carl L – T/Sgt – Engineer – KIA

• Cochran, William J – S/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA

• Hinkson Jr, Harry M – Sgt – Waist Gunner – KIA

• Deelaney, Grady E – Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – KIA

• Haglund, John L – Sgt – Tail Gunner – KIA

• Crooker, Robert J – Sgt – Waist Gunner – POW

Note: The crew roster in Missing Air Crew Report 7893 lists Sgt Haglund as a waist gunner and Sgt Hinkson as the tail gunner; but the casualty questionnaires completed by Lt Deuschle and Sgt Crooker make it clear that on this mission Sgt Hinkson flew as left waist gunner, and Sgt Haglund flew as tail gunner.

Sgt Haglund and seven of his crew mates were killed in action on August 5, 1944 when their aircraft, B-17G 43-38007, was shot down by flak on a mission to bomb an aircraft engine factory at Magdeburg, Germany. The aircraft received direct hits just before bombs away, and exploded within seconds. The fuselage broke apart aft of the ball turret, and part of the right wing came off. Most of the men were either killed instantly, or were ejected from the aircraft without their chutes. Sgt Haglund may have been pinned in his position in the tail. The aircraft crashed near Lostau, Germany, about 13 kilometers southwest of Burg, near Magdeburg. (The Germans reported that it crashed between Gerwisch and Biederitz, just south of Lostau—vicinity of 52.173°N, 11.731°E.) Pilot 2/Lt Deuschle and gunner Sgt Robert J. Crooker survived and became prisoners of war. The dead were buried initially at the village cemetery in Lostau.

Sgt Haglund's remains were returned to the United States after the war, and interred at Hillside Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 22, 1949. He is buried in Section X, Lot 113, North Half, Space 4. His father and mother are buried next to him in Spaces 1 and 2; and his nephew John William Haglund is buried in Space 3. His mother's parents, John Carlson and Ida J. Carlson, are buried in Section X, Lot 113, Southeast Quarter, Spaces 1 and 2.

He was awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart.

Sources:

1. 487th Bomb Group Association

2. 1920 US Census; Minnesota; Hennepin; Saint Anthony. Carlson, John. Jan 1920 (his father-in-law)

3. 1930 US Census; Minnesota; Hennepin; Saint Anthony. Haglund, Kraite M [sic]. Apr 1930 (Knute M. Haglund, his father)

4. 1940 US Census; Minnesota; Ramsey County; Rose Township; Farm on Highway 8. Haglund, Knute M. 13 May 1940 (his father) Note: The farm was located near the border between Ramsey and Hennepin Counties.

5. Army Air Forces Collection of Mike Voisin. 'Final Approach': Class Book of Army Air Forces Combat Crew Training School Class 06-10. Sioux City, Iowa, circa 1944 (Deuschle crew completed Combat Crew Training at Sioux City, Iowa)

6. Cemetery records of Hillside Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota

7. de Jong, Ivo. The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H). Paducah KY: Turner Publishing, Oct 2004

8. Haglund, Lynne. Personal Communication. 2012–2015 (niece of John L. Haglund)

9. McIntyre, Jackie. Personal Communication. 2013–2015 (childhood friend of John L. Haglund)

10. New York, Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892–1924; "Knut M.H. Haglund" embarked on the ship Stockholm at Gothenburg, Sweden, and arrived at Ellis Island, Port of New York on 18 Aug 1916.

11. Obituaries of his parents, Knute M. Haglund and Corinne A. Haglund, provided by Hillside Cemetery

12. Social Security Death Index

13. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 7893

14. U.S. War Department. World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel. Washington, D.C., June 1946

15. U.S. World War II Draft Cards, Young Men, 1940–1947

16. World War I Draft Registration of Knute Martin Harold Haglund. 12 Sep 1918 (his father)

Research by:

Paul Webber

Find A Grave member ID 47577572