Tage Elis Molker Berglund
Bio and photo courtesy of Andrew Pestle
Tage Elis Molker Berglund was born in Gunnebo, Sweden, on July 5th, 1892. He received the equivalent of an 8th grade education in school and later listed his occupation as a factory worker. Tage's older brother Carl immigrated to the United States in 1907 and subsequently settled in Omaha, Nebraska (a popular location for Swedish immigrants at the start of the 20th Century). Tage later chose to follow his brother to America and sailed aboard the SS Arabic from Liverpool, England, in September of 1910. He arrived in New York a few weeks afterward and was processed through Ellis Island with $26 on his person.
Tage settled in Omaha with his brother and soon began an occupation as a gas meter repairman. He became a naturalized American citizen on February 7th, 1916, and denied any deferments from military service during the 1917 Draft Registration. Tage was subsequently inducted into the US Army on December 14th, 1917, and was assigned as a Private to Aero Squadron #361 of the US Army Signal Corps. This stateside studio photograph likely depicts him during his introductory military training (note the studio backdrop that includes military canvas tents).
Aero Squadron #361 was Initially stationed at Kelly Field in Texas but transferred to Garden City, New York, in March of 1918. They then sailed overseas aboard the SS Winifredian on July 16th, 1918, and soon arrived in England. Information regarding this obscure unit was difficult to uncover, but I did learn that they served with the US Army Services of Supply in England throughout the remainder of the conflict.
Following the November Armistice, the US military determined that Aero Squadron #361 was unneeded in post-war Europe and the unit returned to the United States in December of 1918. Tage received an honorable discharge on December 24th, and it appears that his final army rank was as a Private. His service number was 1072947.
Tage returned to Omaha after the war but traveled back to Sweden for several months in 1920 to visit his aging parents. He married in Iowa in 1924 and eventually had one son with his wife Inez. Tage worked as a real estate salesman and broker throughout the subsequent decades and was quite active in the Masonic Lodge. He later retired to Arizona and lived to the age of 100 years and 7 months; dying on February 12th, 1993. He is now buried in the Sunland Memorial Park Cemetery of Sugar Land, Arizona. It appears that he has a civilian headstone, but I have a pending request for someone to gather a photograph of his grave.