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Discussion: Sadly, another Minnesota veteran from the USS Ward has passed on.

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mwjacques	Sadly, another Minnesota veteran from the USS Ward has passed on. Jul 25 2010, 8:30 PM EDT \| Post edited: Jul 26 2010, 2:51 PM EDT Ken Swedberg, Pearl Harbor Navy man Ken Swedberg's claim to fame was being on the USS Ward when it fired the first American shots in World War II. It sank a Japanese mini-sub in the mouth of Pearl Harbor. Swedberg, 89, was president of the First Shot Naval Veterans when he died July 11 of lung cancer in a Maplewood hospital. Only about a dozen of the 84 men on the USS Ward the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, are still alive. They were part of the 47th Division of the Naval Reserve from St. Paul. Their destroyer was patrolling the mouth of Pearl Harbor that Sunday morning and sank the sub an hour before the sneak air attack that killed 2,000 U.S. servicemen. The two-torpedo sub and four others like it planned to fire at U.S. ships in the harbor. But doubt about the sinking lingered for 60 years until the mini-sub was found in August 2002. University of Hawaii researchers recorded an underwater video that showed a hole in the sub's conning tower, right where Swedberg and other Ward crew members saw it hit. Swedberg was a fireman whose primary job was to keep the Ward's steam boilers cooking to power the ship. But he was on deck that morning manning a flare gun. He told Thill he saw the sub surface about 150 feet away shortly before 7 a.m. The Ward's first shot missed. But the second, 4-inch shell sent the secret sub to the bottom, said Thill, a gunner. Just over an hour later chaos reigned as hundreds of Japanese planes flew overhead, attacking the naval base at Pearl Harbor and nearby air bases. Swedberg was dedicated to preserving the memory of the Ward's role in the Pearl Harbor attack that drew the United States into the war, said Ken Bodin, his son-in-law. He gave talks to veterans clubs and helped bring the 16-foot-long cannon that sank the sub to the Veterans Services Building on the Minnesota State Capitol grounds, Bodin said. Jim Adams • 612-673-7658 Post reply 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you? Keyword tags: 47th Division Minnesota Pearl Harbor
Japanesearmor	1. RE: Sadly, another Minnesota veteran from the USS Ward has passed on. Aug 1 2010, 7:06 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 1 2010, 7:06 PM EDT Thanks for the information Mark. Sad to see 'America's greatest generation' passing away. I also didn't know the historical importance of the naval artillery piece located at the state capital grounds. I have passed it several times and from now on will do so with far more respect. Post reply 2 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you?
ed1961o-k	2. RE: Sadly, another Minnesota veteran from the USS Ward has passed on. Aug 8 2010, 12:14 AM EDT I definitely had a learning moment when I happened upon the USS Ward cannon. What a great piece of American history right on our Capitol grounds. There is a very nice display of information right in front of the Veterans building facing the Capitol, well worth your time. Post reply 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you?