Alton Dalager goes down with the SS Samuel Heintzelman, 1943

Following graduation, Alton worked at the navy shipyards in Charleston, South Carolina. During this time he met Sarah Childers whom he married on May 24, 1942 in York, S.C. Sarah was from South Carolina. As the United States was at war, Alton decided to serve his country and joined the Merchant Marine. Before he went to sea, he and his wife Sarah made a trip to Noonan, North Dakota to visit Lars, the Hansons and many other friends.

Alton shipped out as a deck engineer on the Liberty Ship, SS Samuel Heintzelman from Charleston, South Carolina on May 11, 1943. The ship carried a merchant crew of 42 and an Armed Guard of 19. The ship disappeared with all hands after leaving Fremantle, on the west coast of Australia on July 1, 1943 for Calcutta via Colombo, Sirlanka, Karachi, Pakistan and Calcutta, India loaded with munitions. The ship was due in Colombo on July 14, 1943. The ship and its crew were never heard from again. German records show that the German Submarine U-511 torpedoed the SS Samuel Heintzelman on July 9th, 1943.

Heinz Rehse, a crew member of the U-511, stated that the sub went deep after firing the torpedoes and they heard underwater explosions. Upon surfacing there was no sign of the ship or survivors. Pieces of debris were found on the deck of the sub.(4) On September 30, 1943 some wreckage was washed ashore on Diego Garcia Island 04 degrees 40 minutes South and 71 degrees 73 minutes east.

Noonan Miner

Feb. 28. 1946

Triple Memorial Service at Noonan

Sunday afternoon, March 3rd, at 3 P.M. there will be a triple memorial service in the Bethlehem Lutheran church in Noonan to honor the memory of the three young men from that congregation who lost their lives in the service of their country. The three men are: Ingval Hermanson, Alton Dalager and Wayne Erickson. Each of these young men were reported by the War Department as ‘missing’ and without any doubt they all lost their lives in the performance of their duties.

Lars Dalager – Self Made Man

Lars Dalager was born February 28, 1876, the youngest son of Lasse Dalaker and Guri Nilsdotter Staveteig. Lars was born and grew to manhood at Kaupanger, Norway, which is located on the Sognfjord.

Lars’ father, Lasse, had inherited the farm they lived on from his father, Solfest Dalaker, because he was the oldest son. It may have been because Lars was the youngest son of Lasse and would not inherit the land or because of his adventurous spirit, but he decided that his future lay in America. He emigrated to the United States from Norway by way of the port of Liverpool, England. Lars arrived at the port of New York on March 27, 1901 on the ship Eutruria, Connard Line after a 10 day crossing. He traveled to Glenwood, Minnesota where he stayed with his uncles Hans and Nels for about 5 years before moving on to Noonan, North Dakota. On March 29, 1908 Lars bought land in Mentor township, Divide county, about 6 miles northeast of Noonan.

Lars was a successful grain and sheep farmer and at one time operated nearly four sections of land. On July 6, 1914 Lars applied to became a naturalized citizen of the United States of America. On June 22, 1915 Lars Dalager received his citizenship.

In 1917 Lars surprised his many friends in Mentor township when he returned from a visit to Glenwood, Minnesota accompanied by his new bride. She was the former Marie (Molly) Vindedahl of Glenwood. They had been married at Glenwood on June 22, 1917.(1)

A year later, on June 23, 1918, Lars and Molly were blessed with the birth of a son, Alton Benjamin. You can be sure the summer and fall of 1918 was a new and joyous experience for this couple who were newly married but were not a young couple. Neither of them had been married before but Lars was 41 and Marie was 38.

The newfound happiness of Lars and Molly was short lived.

The Noonan Miner

November 7, 1918

Mrs. Lars Dalager, living north of town, died at the hospital in Estevan, on Tuesday morning, Nov. 5, 1918 from a short illness of pneumonia. she was 38 years of age and was married to Lars Dalager about a year and a half ago. She leaves to mourn her death, her husband and a small baby boy about four months old.

Mrs. Dalager was a woman highly respected by all who knew her, and by her many good qualities. She made friends wherever she went. She proved to be an excellent wife and mother and her family was always her first consideration. The family have the sympathy of all in their hour of bereavement.

It was shortly after this that Lars appeared on the doorstep of his neighbor’s home, Ole Hanson, with a baby boy in his arms…The Hansons had two small children, Olga and Martin. Mrs. Hanson said that she was willing to care for Alton as if he were a member of her family.

The Hansons moved into Noonan between 1920 & 1922 where they operated a dairy. Alton attended school in Noonan, graduating from high school in 1936. He went on to school to study electrical engineering at North Dakota Agricultural College (now NDSU), Fargo, North Dakota in the fall of 1936. In 1938 he transferred to the University of Texas in Austin, graduating in June of 1941 with a degree in Electrical Engineering.(3)

Lars Dalager’s Later Years

After the loss of his wife and the placement of his son in a good home, Lars hired Mrs. Clara Antonson as his housekeeper so he could put full time into farming. This arrangement started some time in 1921. Mrs. Antonson and her two children, Mabel and Art, lived in Lars’ house. Clara Antonson was Lars’ housekeeper for the rest of his life.

Mabel Johnson, Clara Antonson’s daughter, described Lars as a very pleasant fellow and they all helped with the farming. Before Lars had a truck to haul his grain, he hauled his grain by horse drawn wagon, loaded with 2 bushel sacks of grain, to the Soo Line track north of Noonan. Here it was loaded or carried into box cars and shipped to Minneapolis. It was a long slow trip and Lars would leave early in the morning. Lars also had cattle, horses and sheep on his farm which was a common practice at that time.

Mr. G. Earl Hasler from Waukegan, Illinois worked for Lars the summer and fall of 1933. He described Lars as being a man of strong opinions but a very kind man, a hard worker and a good business man. Lars helped raise and educate several children that were not blood relatives as well as his own son.

Harlan and Dick Dalager remember that Lars would stop at their farm, the Willie Dalager farm, when he was in Glenwood, Minnesota. Once when he stopped, his truck was loaded with a new combine which he had purchased in Minneapolis.

In 1957, Lars sold his farm to Bob Wissbrod of Noonan and moved to Morro Bay, Calif. Clara Antonson continued to be his housekeeper. He was a member of Calvary Lutheran Church in Morrow Bay. Lars died May 8, 1964 at the age of 87. Lars was buried at the Los Osos Valley Memorial Park at Morro Bay, Calif. Mrs. Antonson died in 1983 at the age of 95 years.

Divide County Journal

Crosby, North Dakota

May 20, 1964

Lars Dalager was interested in people and good causes. He had a good sense of humor and was of a kindly, cheerful and helpful disposition. He enjoyed work and good fellowship. He often used to say that he never did any work or held any job that he did not enjoy. He was truly a self-made man. But this he would have been the last to admit, since he never tired of telling how much he owed to the opportunities and bounty offered by the American Republic.

Mr. Dalager maintained membership in Calvary Lutheran Church in Morro Bay and was an enthusiastic helper and supporter of all church-sponsored activities.

REFERENCES

The Noonan Miner, Noonan, North Dakota, July 5, 1917

The Noonan Miner, Noonan, North Dakota, Nov. 7, 1918

The Ex-Students’ Association, Univ. of Texas, Austin, Texas

Captain Arthur R. Moore, A Careless Word. . .A Needless Sinking, published 1988. Pages 250 & 515. Robert C. Wilmott, Reference Librarian at the Bland Memorial Library at the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York sent copies of the material on Alton Dalager.

Divide County Journal, Crosby, North Dakota, May 20, 1964

Morro Bay Sun, Morro Bay, Ca., May 21, 1964

Researched and prepared by: Jim Dalager, 610 Duluth Ave S, Thief River Falls, MN 56701, 4/28/1997

Lars Dalager was a first cousin to Jim Dalager’s father Karl Dalager.