Lyman Knute Swenson
Lyman Knute Swenson | |
|---|---|
Navy Cross |
Lyman Knute Swenson (23 October 1892 – 13 November 1942),H-6, 26 May 1919.
In 1921 he returned to surface ships, serving in
Isabel (PY-10) and then Destroyer Division 64. Juneau (CL-52) came under his command 18 December 1941 while still under construction. The newly promoted captain and the newly built light cruiser were both lost in the latter stage of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal 13 November 1942. Twice torpedoed during what historian S. E. Morison called the "wildest most desperate sea fight since Jutland", Juneau sank rapidly, taking under the captain and most of her crew, including the three Sullivan brothers. This battle prevented the Japanese from landing reinforcements on Guadalcanal
.
For his "extraordinary heroism...daring and determination..." Captain Swenson was posthumously awarded the
Navy Cross
.
Personal life
California Court of Appeals, Abercrombie lost custody of her children with Swenson to him, after making baseless accusations that he had molested their four-year-old daughter, Cecelia. The appellate court excoriated Abercrombie, "[I]in furtherance of a manifest determination to prevent him from ever seeing the children again, under any circumstances, she was instrumental in inspiring and promoting a scheme directly involving one of the children which had for its obvious purpose the ruination of respondent's character as a man, the bringing about of his complete disgrace as a naval officer, and the destruction of the love and affection which his children had theretofore manifested toward him." Swenson v. Swenson (1929) 101 Cal.App. 440.[9][10][11]
In 1929, Lyman Swenson married Loretta B. Bruner (1897-1979). His son, Lyman K. Swenson, Jr. ("Robert") (1923-2016) was also a US Naval officer.
Namesake
In 1943, the destroyer USS Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729) was named in his honor.
See also
References
- ^ The Philadelphia Inquirer. Dec. 8, 1929, magazine section, p. 6
- ^ Oakland Tribune. August 12, 1920, pg. 1
- ^ Oakland Tribune. October 14, 1925. p. 2AA
- ^ Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German- American Business Biographies, 1720 to the present
- ^ Our Man in the Crimea: Commander Hugo Koehler and the Russian Civil War. P.J. Capelotti. University of South Carolina Press. (1991)
- ^ The Philadelphia Inquirer. Dec. 8, 1929, magazine section, p. 6
- ^ New York Times. June 3, 1927
- ^ Swenson v. Swenson (1929) 101 Cal.App. 440.
- ^ Children of a New World: Society, Culture, and Globalization. Paula S. Fass (2006) NYU Press. pg. 146
- ^ The Philadelphia Inquirer. Dec. 8, 1929, magazine section, p. 6
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
External links
- history.navy.mil: USS Lyman K. Swenson Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine