Kenneth Harry Dahlberg
Military
Object Number - UPL 51797 - Capt Kenneth Harry Dahlberg, 354FG
Kenneth Dahlberg 354th Fighter Group. P-51 Mustang Pilot.
Ken Dahlberg's extraordinary life (he was a triple ace (15) during WWII, was shot down 3 times, became a POW, and after the war founded Dahlberg Electronics (Miracle Ear)) has been well recorded in his biography "One Step Forward: The Life of Ken Dahlberg".
He also appears in a Wikipedia article, an article by Al Zdon on the American Legion website, the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame website, and many other excellent articles.
Dahlberg, Kenneth H. Aviator, Ken grew up on a 120-acre farm near Wilson, Wisconsin. While the Federal Land Bank was busy fore-closing on the family farm, Ken graduated from Harding High School in 1935 and went to work washing pots and pans in the Lowry Hotel in St. Paul. Promotions came fast and furious and so did a draft notice from President Roosevelt. On June 2, 1944, four days before D-Day, Ken arrived in England to join the 354th Fighter Group flying P-51 Mustangs to support the invasion. Flying from steel mats hastily laid down above Omaha Beach, Ken became a rare Triple Ace by amassing 15 air-to-air victories over the Luftwaffe in both Mustangs and Thunderbolts. He was shot down three times beyond enemy lines, escaped twice and sat out the last few months of the war as a POW in Stalag 7-A in Moosburg, a suburb of Munich. Ken called it his "first experience in suburban living." While a POW, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Returning to the Twin Cities after the war, he married Betty Jayne Segerstrom and completed the "Greatest Generation" arc by founding the Miracle Ear Hearing Aid Company. Entrepreneur and patriot, he passed away at age 94.
For more information see his 8th AFHS-MN webpage at
https://sites.google.com/site/8thafhsmn/pictures/ken-dahlberg-fighter-p…
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Dulag Luft Grosstychow Dulag 12
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Headcorn
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag 7a, Moosburg
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Wilson, WI | 30 June 1917 | Son of Harry and Mamie Dahlberg. |
|
Other Force landed |
51300 Orconte, France | 19 September 1944 | Landing Accident Orconte/A-66 Cat 3 damage Capt Kenneth H Dahlberg, 19-Sep-44. P-51D 44-13550 - 353FS 354FG 9AF |
|
Other Failed to Return (FTR) |
Prum, Germany | 14 February 1945 | Failed to Return (FTR) Prum in P-47 42-29336 14-Feb-45; abandoned A/C POW MACR 12523 |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Zagan, Poland | 14 February 1945 | Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft III, later Stalag VIIa |
|
Died |
4 October 2011 | ||
|
Buried |
7 October 2011 | Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Virginia Columbarium 7 G-17-4 | |
|
Based |
Rosieres en Haye | 14 February 1945 | Assigned to 353FS, 354FG, 9AF USAAF. |
