Extended Xavier Families in Military or Related Civilian Service

By John E. Xavier

Preface: The "Long Reach" of War and Military Service

     This chapter of the Extended Xavier Family blog is a sobering reminder of the "long reach" of world affairs, especially of war, into the lives of families and individuals. In the aftermath of a war, the later and living generations often show a tendency to regard the historical past as much more peaceful and calm than was in fact the case. That greater interpretation is beyond this chapter, which is more of an overgrown inventory of family connections to war and military service.
     Since April of 1861 with the onset of the Civil War, it seems the extended Xavier family connections to war are easily documented, The two notable exceptions to the long reach of war, by evidence known in mid-2012, are the Spanish-American War and the British Empire-sponsored Boer War (for Canadians), where we have found no connections to the extended Xavier Family.
     There is a certain level of irony in the long reach of war as shown in this essay. The Saami traditions in the European Arctic world are devoid of a warrior tradition, the climate and remote location having furnished ample defense for large-scale military ventures in the homeland of the Saami. Of course, those familiar with Saami history are aware of small-scale troop enforcement of religious conformity (as in 1852). That very small-scale troop enforcement measure by the King of Sweden looms large in Saami history. This is due to the broadly based uprising against a corrupted and repressive state (Lutheran) church as well as other local institutions functioning as a support system the state church. This deplorable state of affairs has been well documented, most recently in the film Kautokeino Opproret / Kautokeino Uprising,  an excellent film by Saami film-maker Nils Gaup.(Gaup is himself a shirt-tail relative of the Xavier family.)
      Beyond that religious repression, however, there is the recent and dominent fact of the vast military-industrial machinery deployed in World War II. Here was the ultimate long reach, for Nazi Germany stationed thousands of troops and hundreds of warplanes in Sapmi. The Nazi forces sought to cut off Allied shipping to the Soviet Union headed over Norway to the port of Archangel. Thus the entire region around Kirkeness was transformed into a prime target for Allied aerial bombing attacks. The North American Saami were in general as involved as anyone in World War II, and that stands true for the extended Xavier family.
     Several members of the extended Xavier family have pursued military service in full-time careers, reserve, National Guard, or combinations of those options. Thus, with the Saami American assimilation to U.S. ways has come a certain level of military participation, in both times of war and peace.

Contents:

Part I. Military Abbreviations and Alphabetical List of Individual Names (Rapid Reference)
   A. Abbreviations: Branches of Service; Related Service; and War Nomenclature
   B. Individuals of Extended Xavier Family in Military Service or Related Service. We include Pastors
        known to have presided over military funerals.

Part II. Alphabetical List of Individual Names, with Expanded Information
   A. Individual Names (Same order as in I.B above)
   B. Expanded Information on Individual Service, Military Units, and Extended Family Connections


Part I. Military Abbreviations and Alphabetical List of Names (Rapid Reference)

A. Abbreviations: Branches of Service; Related Service; and War Nomenclature

Note: In units of ships, war planes, ground transport, and armor, the size will vary.

AfgWar = Afganistan War, 2001-present
ANG = Air National Guard
AUS = Army of the United States (By law and tradition, made up of all males between ages 20 and 60).
Bat = Batallion, usually five companies, meaning 500 soldiers
Brig = Brigade, usually at least two or three regiments, meaning 2000-3000 soldiers. Brigades can be anywhere from two to four in a division.
Cav. = Cavalry, the horse-mounted soldiers, often used like today's tanks and amored personnel carriers.

CG= Coast Guard
Civil War = U.S. Civil War (War of Rebelliion, War Between the States, War of Secession, War for Southern Independence, War of Yankee Agression, Recent Unpleasantness, etc.)
Co. = Company, usually 100 soldiers.
Cpl. = Corporal
Div. = Division, usually a minimum of ten regiments, meaning a minimum of 10,000 soldiers.
Eng. = Engineers

FBI = Federal Bureau of Investigation
IRAQWar I = First Iraq War, 1991.
IRAQWar II = 2nd Iraq War, 2003-2011
Fleet = Large assemblage of warships; also, a designated group of warships, often in a specific area
HVAC = Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning
HQ = Headquarters
KE = Korean War Era, 1950-1953, an official"Police Action" under the United Nations.

LCSSRelief = Lutheran Commission for Soldiers and Sailors (Relief Fund), a World War I organization
MAR = United States Marines
NCO = Non-commissioned officer (e.g., Corporal, Sargent, variations on Sargent),  Army and Air Force
NG = National Guard (Army)
NR = Naval Reserves
OSS = Office of Special Services (succeeded by the Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA)

PO = Petty officer (U.S. Navy), equivalents of NCOs.
Reg. = Regiment, usually ten companies, meaning a minimum of 1,000 soldiers
SA = Spanish American War 1897-1898.
SGT = Sargent

SQUAD = Squadron, a warship or supply ship unit, a grouping of vessels; the unit varies in size.

US Army = United States Army
USAAF = United States Army Air Force (World War II Era Designation, before post-war split to USAF).
USAF = United States Air Force
USN = United States Navy
USAR = US Army Reserve
Viet Nam Era = Generally accepted as 1960-1975.

WWI = World War I (Prior to WWII, referred to as The Great War, The Great World War, the War of 1914, and other names.) War dates were 1914-1918; American years were 1917-1918.
WWII = World War II. War dates were 1939-1945; American years were 1941-1945.

B. Individuals of Extended Xavier Family in Military Service or Related Service

1. Rev. Anders O. Aasen (1872-1974). Pastor. Presided over several WWI war-related funerals.
2. Alvin Bethke (1924-1962). Army NG in WWII Era; Sgt. US Army Eng. in Korea during KE.
3. Charles Bethke (b.1926). Cpl. US Marines in Okinawa during WWII.
4. Charlotte Bethke (b. 1962). (See Charlotte Dixon) Enlisted, USN.
5. Gregory Bethke (b. 1953). Cpl., US Army
6. Herman Bethke (1849-1938). Army Infantry, Kingdom of Prussia (Kaiser Wilhelm I), 1872-74.
7. James Bethke (b. 1958). Pvt. USAF.
8. Larry Bethke (b. 1955). Cpl. US Army
9. Rebekah Burton (b. 19). Career officer, Commander., USN.
10. Edwin Camrud. US Army, the WW I Era. [1]
11. Martin Camrud. US Army, the WW I Era. [1]
12. Richard Camrud. US Army, the WW I Era. [1]
13. Robert Clark. Major, USAF, career officer, 1950s-1960s. Later associated with NASA.
14. Charlotte Dixon (See Charlotte Bethke).
15. James Dixon (b. 1960). Major; Career officer, US Marines. 25-year. Meteorology Specialist.
16. James Dixon Jr. (b. 1985) Sgt., US Marines, Spec. in HQ, HVAC esp. for computer systems
17. Dixon (1987) Petty Officer, USN. Served on aircraft carriers.
18. George Farrell
19. Farrell
20. Julia Hippe, Army Nurse, World War I Era [3] 
21. Henning Larsen. Officer Candidate USA, 1918.
22. Jakob A.O. Larsen. Military Attache, USA in US Embassy, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1917-1918
23. Rev. Lauritz Larsen (1882-1923). National Lutheran Commission for Soldiers' and Sailors' Welfare; offices for war relief, food supply, etc.
24. Rev. L.T. Larson - Pastor, presided over WWII war-related funerals, incl. that of Bjarne K. Xavier.
25. Jonathan Larson. Army NG; career NCO, 1950s-1960s.
26. Harold Mueller (b. 1945). ROTC, St. Olaf College.
27. Theodore I. Rotto (? IKE?)
28. Mark A. Selid. US Army in Viet Nam Era.
29. Mary Ellen Sokolik. USAR Band Post-Viet Nam Era
30. Clemens Tretbar. Infantry and Cavalry, Civil War. Two tours, Enlisted Private, USA.
31. Bjarne K. Xavier. MN NG, non-commissioned officer; 2nd Lt. USA (France), between World War I and World War II Era.
32. Brian M. Xavier. USN, petty officer, Viet Nam Era; USAR Band Post-Viet Nam era, career non-commissioned officer. 
33. Gothard W. Xavier. US Army Engineers, NCO, WWI; survived torpedoing of Tuscania, 1918.
34. Johan U. Xavier (1870-1963). Carpenter, construction of Ft. Lewis, Washington, World War I Era.
35. Rev. Karl Xavier (1869-1924) - Pastor, presided over several war-related funerals
36. (Nils) Paul Xavier. USN, career petty officer, 1940s to 1950s. [Son of Johan U. and Signe Xavier]
37. Paul Neuberg Xavier. Aeronautical engineer, Grumman Aircraft, World War II Era.
38. Peter L. Xavier. MN NG, non-commissioned officer; USA, career non-commissioned officer, served prior to, during, and after WWII.  Attached to OSS during and after WWII.
39. Valdemar U. Xavier. MN NG, non-commissioned officer; 2nd Lt., Lt., Capt. USA in WWII Era; career officer, as Major and Lt. Col., USAR.

Note on "Home Front" Aspects, World Wars I and II:   Home front aspects deserve some amount of attention here. In addition to the persons named above in uniformed and civilian support services, in World Wars I and II, several extended family pastors did yeoman service on the home front. Among these were, by alphabetical order: Rev. Anders O. Aasen, Rev. Lauritz Larsen, Rev. L.T. Larson, Rev. Fred Schiotz, Rev. Al Selid, Rev. Karl Astrup Xavier, and Rev. Karl Xavier.

     For example, in that decisive year of 1918, Rev. Karl Xavier held seven local funerals for soldiers and sailors in his rural Nebraska parish church, Immanuel Lutheran Church, at Bradish (Newman Grove), Boone County. These Nebraska funerals were all for men who were casualties in uniformed service, including not only battlefield-related deaths, but also drowning due to the sinking of the ship Otranto and, finally, from disease in the great "Spanish" Influenza epidemic of 1918. In addition to direct connection to those funerals, most  Immanuel Lutheran parish families had connections to military casualties outside the immediate parish.
     Many families already were intermarried by World War I, and furthermore, several Nebraska military units suffered extraordinary losses as they were assigned to directly attack and pursue the retreating German Imperial Army in the last gasp struggles of October and November, 1918. In the specific case of Immanuel Lutheran Church, it is difficult to imagine the great impact of these losses in a closely-knit church community where there had been not one single funeral of any kind in 1917!


Part II. Alphabetical List of Names (Detailed Information)

In progress

1. Rev. Anders O. Aasen (1872-1974). Pastor. Presided over several WWI war-related funerals.
2. Alvin Bethke (1924-1962). Army NG in WWII Era; Sgt. US Army Eng. in Korea during KE. Alvin, known as Al, was initially trained in World War II as a winter ("ski") soldier. However, the war priorities shifted away from an invasion of Norway, and Al was released back to the Bethke farm near Franklin, MN. Later he was activated for the Korean War. In Korea, with his farm equipment background, Al became operator and, as Sargent, supervisor of heavy road-building equipment and several men in a military construction outfit. More than once, Al and his men had to arm themselves in anticipation of being overrun, during the back-and-forth nature of army movements in this seesaw conflict. In civilian life, after 1953, Al and his wife, Lorraine, assumed management and part ownership of the Bethke family farm. Known as a good and progressive farmer in the Bethke traditions, Al maintained an active and respected role in the American Legion Honor Guard for appearances on funeral and holiday occasions. He died suddenly and unexpectedly of wildly metastatic mesothelioma in 1962. He was the brother of Edith Bethke Xavier, wife of Rev. Karl Astrup Xavier.
3. Charles Bethke (b.1925). Cpl. US Marines in Pacific and Okinawa during WWII. Drafted at age 18, Charles enlisted in the Navy. Upon reporting to San Diego, he and others were informed they were needed by the US Marines. After long training sessions, including in the Marshall Islands, Charles and thousands of other Marines were assigned to some of the most vicious fighting in World War II, that is, the invasion of Okinawa. There it was that the Japanese Imperial Navy unleashed the dreaded kamikaze, who crashed airplanes into ships and military formations in deliberately planned mass suicide attacks. In addition, thousands of Okinawan civilians Japanese soldiers committed suicide rather than surrender. Charles escaped the kamikaze, and the fighting, which included hand-to-hand combat with bayonets, without a scratch. Rather than accept occupation duty in Japan, with bonuses and extra home leave, Charles and his most of his fellow Marines chose to wait out the many weeks of delays for discharge and to return home. With wild rumors of guerilla warfare in Japan, they had enough of the Japanese military.
4. Charlotte Bethke (b. 1962). (See Charlotte Dixon) Enlisted, USN.
5. Gregory Bethke (b. 1953). Cpl., US Army. "Greg" served in Germany, and later used his GI education funding to complete a Bachelor's degree in business at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.
6. Herman Bethke (1849-1938). Army Infantry, Kingdom of Prussia (Kaiser Wilhelm I), 1872-74. Family lore has it that Herman was able to save his entire pay and more by doing errands for other soldiers, writing letters for them, and by avoiding tobacco, excess alcohol, and gambling. When released, is treatment by aristocratic landownees His army boots were preserved for decades by Bethke family members until a poor choice in storage by the author led to destruction by rats in the 1980s.
7. James Bethke (b. 1958). Pvt. USAF. "Jimmy" was among other duties assigned to provide security for large bombers based in the Rapid City, SD area.
8. Larry Bethke (b. 1955). Cpl. US Army, including nuclear clearance. Larry served in the US Army in Europe, where his duties included a variety of assignments pertaining to what were then referred to as Field Grade Nuclear Weapons (now called Tactical Nukes). Larry noted that some of the FGs were about 1/4 the size of the bombs dropped on Japan in August of 1945.
9. Rebekah Burton. Commander., USN. Rebekah has been a career officer with the Navy, long-affiliated  with the Naval Hospital Corps School, Great Lakes, Illinois. She is the daughter of Paul and Lois (Schiotz) Eid; grand-daughter of Rev. Fred and Dagny (Aasen) Schiotz; great-grand-daughter of Rev. Anders O. and Marit (Xavier) Aasen; and the great-great grand-daughter of Nils Paul and Amanda (Norum) Xavier. Her USN rank was the highest attained active-duty officer status by a member of the Extended Xavier Family -[pre one note].
10. Edwin Camrud. USA, World War I Era. [1a]
11. Martin Camrud. USA, World War I Era. [1b]
12. Richard Camrud. USA, World War I Era. [1c]
13. Robert Clark. Major, USAF, career officer, 1950s-1960s. Later associated with NASA. Robert was married to Barbara Xavier, daughter of Johan U. and Signe (Skattebol) Xavier. Once Robert concluded active USAF service, he was affiliated as a civilian contractor for several years, including locations in Virginia and Florida. Some of his work involved advanced aeronautics, which accounted for the family acquaintances with numerous NASA officials and astronauts. [2]
14. Dixon
15. Dixon
16. Dixon
17. George Farrell. United States Army, World War II. Second husband of Violet Xavier, widow of Bjarne Xavier. George was particularly classy and generous in opening doors to the extended Xavier family after he and Violet married. George was therefore, the step-father to Barbara Xavier Lilledal.
18. Farrell. Half-brother of Barbara Xavier Lilledal
    
19. Julia Hippe, Army Nurse.USA, World War I Era.[3]
20. Henning Larsen. Officer Candidate USA, 1918. Under the U.S. Government plan to train thousands of badly-needed officers, Henning was enrolled in a Student officer program, as he was in graduate school at the time. He did not see active duty, as the WWI ended before he finished requirement for commission. There seems to be no record of his continuing in the USAR. Henning later earned the degree of PhD from Princeton, and had a distinguished career as a professor and writer, including as Provost of the Graduate School at the University of Illinois (Champign-Urbana). Henning, as a son of Prof. Laur. and Ingeborg (Astrup) Larsen, was a brother-in-law of Karl Xavier, from Karl's first wife, Henrietta Randine Larsen. [4]
21. Jakob A.O. Larsen (1881-1978). Military Attache, USA in US Legation (Embassy), Copenhagen, Denmark, 1917-1918. J.A.O Larsen was the brother-in-law of Karl Xavier, from Karl's first wife, Henrietta Randine Larsen[5]
22. Jonathan Larson. National Guard; career non-commissioned officer. 1950s-1960s. [6]
23. Rev Lauritz Larsen (1882-1923). Sec'y, National Lutheran Commission for Soldiers' and Sailors' Welfare; Sec'y and Pres. National Lutheran Council. Rev. Larsen, who basically worked himself to death, was prominent in the U.S. and abroad in efforts to ease the effects of war. He was a brother-in-law of Karl Xavier through Karl's first wife, Henrietta (Larsen) Xavier [7]
24. Rev. L.T. Larson - Pastor of Immanuel Luth - Conducted funerals during WWII, notably 2nd Lt. Bjarne K. Xavier (1910-1944). L. T. Larson was a brother of Fridtjof Larson, husband of Anna (Xavier) Larson. [7]
25. Mark A. Selid. USA in Viet Nam Era. [8]
26. Mary Ellen Sokolik. Non-commissioned officer, USAR Band, Fort Snelling, MN, Post-Viet Nam Era. For some years in the late 1970s, Mary was in the renowned Ft. Snelling Army Reserve Band. It was through the band that she met her husband, The Rev. Dr. Joel V. Xavier, with an introduction her band-mate, Joel's brother, Sgt. Brian M. Xavier. Mary finished her enlistment obligation, and since then has pursued her musical interests outside of this USAR band. She has also attained professional credentials in public school music and accounting. She and Joel reside in the rural Albert Lea area. [9]
27. Clemens Tretbar. Enlisted, Infantry and Cavalry, Union Army (AUS), Civil War. Clemens Tretbar enlisted twice in the Union Army. His first enlistment was for Co. K of the 29th New York Infantry, where he served from 1861-1863, when the Regiment was disbanded. In this, Clemens' first enlistment, the 29 New York participated in such important battles as (First) Bull Run (also known as First Manassas) in July of 1861, and also Chancellorsville in April-May of 1863. The 29th New York then was disbanded in late summer of 1863.                                                                                        Clemens then re-enlisted in 1864 in the 3rd Regiment New Jersey Cavalry, assigned to Co. C in early 1864. Here, too, Clemens' outfit saw heavy action. 3rd Reg. NJ Cav was involved with the Wilderness, May, 1864; Spotsylvania Court House, May, 1864; Cold Harbor, June, 1864; the siege at Petersburg; and finally, the grand prize of them all, Appomatox in April of 1865 for the surrender of Gen. Lee to the forces under Gen. Grant. Before disbanding in 1865, the 3rd Reg NJ Cav marched in the Grand Review in May in Washington, D.C. It is worth noting that by re-enlisting in 1864, Clemens probably received a bonus of several hundred dollars, depending on skills. A $500 Union Army enlistment bonus, or a bonus received as payment from a man wanting to buy a substitute for a way out of the draft (often $500) would have made Clemens well off, for the purchasing power of the dollar was about 100 to 1, so $500 was worth about $50,000 in 2012 money. An educated guess is that Clemens knew enough about horses to negotiate a bonus for enlisting in the Cavalry on top of other bonuses. He got out of the war, apparently in fine health, and came to Minnesota, in the late 1860s, and claimed a veteran's bonus in land near Morgan in Brown County on the south ridge of the Minnesota River Valley. This land had recently been taken (by treaty, deception, and military force) from the local Native Americans (known as Lower Mdewanketon Sioux), and was hotly contested in the Great US-Dakota War of 1862. Clemens was located not far from Franklin, Minnesota in Renville County, location of several Saami-American families, including that of N.P. and Amanda Xavier. He knew all of the Xavier in-laws (Bethke), was the first country school teacher for District 1 in Camp Township, just about two miles from the residence of N.P and Amanda Xavier. His son, Albert Tretbar, married Mathilde "Tillie" Bethke in 1920, thus marrying into a family that has had Xavier connections for four generations. N.P. Xavier baptized Katherine Bethke in the 1880s. Among modern connections, the wife of Rev. Karl Astrup Xavier (1912-1990) was Edith (Bethke) Xavier (1922-2010), a niece of Tillie (Bethke) Tretbar. Reuben Tretbar, a grandson of Clemens, has been for decades a close friend of Karl Astrup and Edith Bethke Xavier.[9]
28. Bjarne K. Xavier (1910-1944). Minnesota NG, non-commissioned officer; 2nd Lt. USA (France), between wars and in the World War II Era. Died of Wounds in France, and is buried in St. Avold, near Metz. between wars and in the World War II Era. He was the only direct descendent of Nils Paul and Amanda Xavier to become a wartime casualty. He is believed by this author to be the highest-ranking Saami American officer in US uniform to be a wartime casualty.[10]
29. Brian M. Xavier. USN, petty officer, Viet Nam Era; USAR Band Post-Viet Nam era, career non-commissioned officer. Brian enlisted in the USN after two years of higher education at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He served on the USS Catamount, a supply ship originally commissioned late in WWII as a Landing Ship Tank (LST) for potential land invasion of mainland Japan. (The ship and crew were present in Tokyo Bay for the signing of the Japanese surrender in 1945). Brian was heavily engaged in operating and maintaining the electronic and communication equipment of Catamount. During the Viet Nam Era, Catamount made a supply run to Viet Nam, during which Brian had to overhaul the communication system. Later, following discharge, he pursued the expertise acquired in the Navy, earning an electrical engineering degree at the University of Minnesota. While employed in computer engineering for decades, Brian maintained interest in the USAR Ft. Snelling Band. He attained rank of Sargent and was for many years responsible for the sound equipment, in addition to being called on to perform yeoman service on the flute. The USAR Ft. Snelling Band has been a long-recognized leader in concert performance, has been a Presidental citation outfit, and was called on to provide music in 1994 for the 50th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion in France. This last assignement was one Brian considered to be both professionally and personally one of his great life experiences. Brian retired from both the USAR and civilian work, subsequent to a stroke. He and wife MaryEsther (Carlson) Xavier live in Kasson, Minnesota. [11]
30. Gothard Waldemar Xavier (1889-19??). USA, non-commissioned officer, WWI; survived torpedoing of Tuscania, 1918.  [12]
31. Johan U. Xavier. Carpenter-contractor for construction of Ft. Lewis, Washington, World War I Era. Johan, in addition to being a highly educated man, had developed advanced carpentry skills long before WWI. He had built homes for himself in the Seattle area, as well as for his retired parents, Nils Paul and Amanda (Norem) Xavier. He also built other structures, including small animal barns. He had left Pacific Lutheran College (Academy) before WWI broke out, and so was available for the long-hours and highly paid positions which the US Army was desperate to fill. Johan was, however, injured in a fall, and so did not finish the war in Ft. Lewis, but rather in the wholesale grocer trades. [13]
32. (Olof) Paul Xavier. USN, career petty officer, 1940s to 1950s. Paul, named for his maternal grandrather, Rev. Olof Skattebol, but who did not go by Olof, was the son of Johan U. and Signe (Skattebol) Xavier. He spent 20 years in the USN, including as a petty officer, retired, and then later returned to Seattle area where he worked at various jobs, including maintenance and janitorial positions. [14]
33. Paul Neuberg Xavier. Aeronautical engineer, Grumman Aircraft, World War II Era. According to family tradition, Paul developed several methods of analyzing and correcting the effects of air friction on the wings of aircraft. This work also had an impact on the design of wing guns able to fire accurately in spite of heat from air friction.[15]
34. Peter Laurentius Xavier. (1901-1981) MN NG, non-commissioned officer; USA, career non-commissioned officer, served prior to, during, and after WWII.  Prior to the declaration of war, "Pete" was a small arms instructor at West Point, NCO rank of Sargent. He was by 1940, after the Allied debacle of Dunkirk, secretly posted to Great Britain for weapons training of British and British Commonwealth soldiers. Later, he was attached to OSS, where he carried out underground missions in France and Belgium, before he was attached to Gen. Patton's Third Army. Following WWII, Pete continued in service and was officially retired as a Corporal. According to one school of thought, he went over to the wild side of right-wing and racist politics, including the white-supremacist (and designated public threat) National State's Rights Party. However, according to a second school of thought, evidence points to an on-going role as an informant of the U.S. Government, an informant against the right-wing and racist organizations where he was affiliated. This second school of thought cites the fact that Pete's name either does not appear or has been blacked out of Freedom of Information documents from the FBI. Such factors usually indicated a government operative whose identity the FBI (Army Intelligence?) wished to keep classified. [15]
35. Valdemar Ulrik Xavier (1914-200?). Minnesota NG, non-commissioned officer; 2nd Lt., Lt., Capt. USA in WWII Era; career officer, as Major and Lt. Col., USAR. Valdemar is believed by this author to have been the highest ranking Saami American officer in the USAR. Valdemar spent the bulk of World War II in Texas, as a training and equipment officer for anti-tank warfare. Slated for duty in the planned invasion of Japan in 1945, he was then shifted to occupation duty for about a year. He witnessed in person the atomic bomb sites in Japan. Later, discharged to civilian life, Valdemar completed his Bachelors degree in Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Augsburg College, Minneapolis. He later, again thanks to GI Bill features, completed a Masters in Public School Administration, and served in education until retirement in 1976. He remained active in the USAR, and moved up in rank to Major and Lt. Colonel, due to extra study and a renowned devotion to  the soldiers under his command.The commands for Lt. Colonel rank were usually in the batallion level, or about 500 soldiers. [16]

[pre-one] "Caught Reading Metro Lutheran here, there and everywhere," Metro Lutheran, August, 2011, p. 19.

[1a], [1b], [1c]  Narvestad,  Valdres Samband, p.354. This work includes a reprint of the World War I roster of the Valdres bygdelag compilation of those from Valdres background. In this case of this chapter, the roster includes the three "Camruds with a 'c' group" of the Kamrud or Kammerud family, and also Julia Hippe (see below).
     The Kammerud family was the family of Rev. Karl Xavier's second wife, Bina (Kammerud) Xavier. The  Karmmeruds, led by Ivar and Marit (Hippe) Kammerud, settled in central-western Minnesota, near Starbuck and Alexandria areas in Pope and Douglas Counties. The Kammerud family included links of various sorts to such families as the "C" Camruds, the Rottos, and the Hippes.

[2]   Johan U. Xavier, "List of Nils Paul Xavier's Descendants," [Mimeographed and Hand-Annotated], (Seattle, WA, No Pub., c 1961), p.2; Pacific Lutheran University, The Diaries of J.U. Xavier (Seattle:PLU, 2004), p. 5 (Ref. to Items in Box 3);  Barbara (Xavier) Clark to Edith (Bethke) Xavier, 1998. Original in possession of John E. Xavier.

[3]   Valdres Samband, p.360. This work includes a reprint of the World War I roster of the Valdres bygdelag compilation of those from Valdres background. In this case of this chapter, the roster includes Julia Hippe.
     The Kammerud family was the family of Rev. Karl Xavier's second wife, Bina (Kammerud) Xavier. The  Karmmeruds, led by Ivar and Marit (Hippe) Kammerud, settled in central-western Minnesota, near Starbuck and Alexandria areas in Pope and Douglas Counties. The Kammerud family included links of various sorts to such families as the "C" Camruds, the Rottos, and the Hippes.
     Army hospitals and other facilities were often a joint venture with the Red Cross. For an excellent essay on World War I Army and other nursing,  see Nancy O'Brien Wagner, "Awfully Busy These Days: Red Cross Women in France during World War I," Minnesota History Vol. 63, No. 1 (Spring, 2102), 24-35.

[7] Olaf Morgan Norlie, School Calendar 1824-1924: A Who's Who Among teachers in the Norwegian Lutheran Synods of America (Minneapolis:Augsburg Publishing House, 1924), p.404. See also, Lauritz Larsen,  Annual reports of the National Lutheran Council.

[9]   Civil Wars Soldiers & Sailors System, http://www.itd.nps.gov.cwss/ ; site visited over several years, and verified April 5, 2012. Conversations with Edith (Bethke) Xavier and Reuben Tretbar, grandson of Clemens, notes in possession of author. Also, Ruby Deming, History of Franklin, Minnesota (Fairfax, MN: 1995).

[12]  For details on the 20th Engineers and the torpedoing of the Tuscania, see    http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~carmita/archive.htm
[15]  Peter L. Xavier, Rise America! (Boston: Meador Press, 1950). FBI, Report on National States Rights Party, 1976. (Freedom of Information Act document, heavily redacted).

Background and Precursors to the Modern Saami North American Movement

By John Edward Xavier

NOTE: This is an opening chapter, as of June 4, 2012, with much more to come.

Introduction: History and Culture as On-going Processes

     It is often fascinating and eye-opening to find out what has gone on over time before the coming of big events. Here, this post will explore the background and precursors of the Saami North American Movement. As an aid to understanding, and an introduction to the way much of history develops, here is a prime example: what Americans like to call the American Revolution.
    To the American Revolution, the year 1776 is firmly attached. Yet the nation we know today is not the direct fruit of that year, but rather of a number of movements both before and after 1776. Some would point to only one year earlier, 1775, when multiple events showed colonial resistance to English rule. Others would point as far back as Magna Carta, signed in 1215, a time when important and mostly hereditary Barons in England demanded and obtained limits on the power of King John.
     Yet even Magna Carta had its precursors, especially in the Assizes of Clarendon, when vivid and frank discussions entailed issues of kingly powers, in the century previous. Closer to home, some historians, few of them in the old Confederate States of America, argue that the U.S. became true to its declared status only in 1865. That year marked the end of medieval-type slavery in America and subsequent Constitutional Amendments (Numbers 13, 14, and 15) cemented the nation, as both citizens and states were tied together. So, America was not just born in a day, July 4, 1776; rather, America is itself part of larger processes, on-going at that, even to our time.
   If we see culture and history as on-going processes, we then can obtain a view more realistic and yet human of those processes and the stories that go into the processes. For many people, perhaps the most compelling reason to find out about and then enjoy the stories is the personal connections that arise, and the process such people have experienced. As an example,I invent here a composite character: suddenly as the evidence pours in from new digital sources, old neighbor Carl Nelson, long deceased, is no longer seen as just another moderately successful farmer or teacher who inevitably drinks too much on Veterans (Armistice) Day, each November 11.
     Instead, Carl becomes a sympathetic figure, an emotionally wounded survivor of World War I who lost a brother and friends in a massive military fiasco on November 3, just before the war ended. He suffered from what we now would call post-traumatic stress disorder. In recent years, local historians learned that Carl's Nelson's loneliness was compensated by a mutual fund portfolio of several millions of dollars which he shared in a fifty-mile circle with each and every returning soldier, sailor, or air force man or woman. He had it to share because his schoolyard friend owned a bank and told him in 1924 to put his excess money into the new mutual fund industry and to never, ever, sell the shares.
     Much of the excess money came from World War I Serviceman's Life Insurance money from war deaths of a brother and a cousin, $20,000 in total (a fortune at the time, when one could retire on about $5000 if one had a little paid-for house and garden). Thus a small farm operator, a sort of local object of gossip and mockery is transformed by new information, and is seen in new lights. Now, he was a participant in some of the great world and national processes, including war and peace; farming versus stock market investments; sharing with returning military personnel versus hoarding money; drinking versus modern treatment for war-related stress; and on and on. In sum, Carl Nelson was himself a case study in process.

On Precursors: Ideas About the Saami North American Movement

     An essay on precursors should spell out and build the case for the hints, bumps, and rumblings that come before an eruption, whatever the topic. In this case the topic is that of the Saami North American Movement.  I choose to use that name, as it has become increasingly apparent that there are active Saami descendents on both sides of the US-Canadian border. It is often fascinating to accumulate knowledge on those who come before: their efforts, themes, and variations are the hints, bumps, the rumblings. In the case of the Saami North American Movement, there are some fine examples of precursors who have carried on and lived long, to the point that the eruption has also included them and their work.
     To give a reasonable context for the Saami North American Revival, this chapter will begin with the pre-1990s. The pre-1990s times were characterized by what can only be called a wide-spread lack of awareness of Saami-related people, even by the Saami North American population. That lack of awareness, a bit dismaying to today's ethnic activists, was evident in general, beyond the Saami North American populace itself to include as well historians and social scientists.
     From the discussion of the general state of lack of awareness, this essay will move on to discuss several precursors, examples of the roles so often played out in by the hints, bumps, and rumblings. These men and women, and their efforts are of interest not only for the colorful and creative aspects of their lives, but for their humanity and foresight.
     Finally, to conclude this essay, we hope to include remarks on the prospects for the future of the Saami North American Revival.

Pre-1990s: Limited Awareness of Ethnic and Historical Background of Saami-Americans

     Amateurs and professionals alike in the fields of social and cultural studies sometimes find themselves carrying out the rewarding tasks of observing, writing about, and perhaps even participating in, the revival of ethnic or cultural groups. Since the 1990s, the Saami-American Movement has been increasingly visible in North America, growing at varying rates of speed. The Saami North American  Movement is somewhat simultaneous to, and closely linked with, the trans-border Saami revival in the Nordic homelands. The North American revival, or movement, has come to fruition due to the efforts of many individuals and small organizations. This revival has gone on despite the limited awareness on the part of most Saami-Americans prior to 1990.
     The Saami-American Movement has been so named in this article because, prior to the 1990s, the generally limited awareness of Saami-Americans was a dominant fact in their history. This limited awareness extended to the vast bulk of professional researchers in immigration history, who overlooked the Saami or (more likely) did not even know the locations of such basic information as there was. As a prime case in point we need only look to the monumental work, They Chose Minnesota, published in 1981.

   This massively researched book was vetted and fully supported by the venerable Minnesota State Historical Society. The result is a a 600-page monument featuring chapters on every ethnic and immigrant group one theoretically could imagine, including the Ojibway [Anishanabe] and Siouan peoples. Each group had a chapter, researched and written by well-credentialed authors. The book continues to be regarded as a capital reference work for ethnic and immigration history in the Upper Midwest.
     Yet, when I first encountered They Chose Minnesota, over ten years ago, I was quite surprised to find what amounted to a total absence of information on Saami-Americans. While the book drew on the resources and expertise of one of America's leading historical societies, the book nonetheless missed the mark on the Saami-Americans.
     Of the Saami Americans, the book made only a minimal passing reference,and that is relegated to a solitary footnote of the chapter on the Finnish and Swede-Finns. Preposterously, especially in our own lights of 2012, the footnote flat-out declares a complete absence of information on the Saami in Minnesota, except for one small written essay found at the Historical Society. The footnote, quoted in its entirety here, tells its own tale:  

"No published studies of American Lapps [sic.] have been located. A copy of a   four-page typed paper by Rudolph      Johnson of Duluth entitled "En Samisk Pioner," ["A Saami Pioneer,"] brought to my attention by Helen M. White, represented the sole scrap located. A copy is in MEHP papers. On Lappish languages, see Hajdu, Finno-Ugrian Languages and Peoples, 203-213." [1]

     Such a statement as this leads inevitably to discussions of the kind of double "masking" or double assimilation of the Saami that took place in Minnesota and elsewhere, as they became associated with numerically larger host communities. In Minnesota the Saami were largely affiliated with Finish and Norwegians, although there was some Swedish hosting of Saami immigrants. It was in the context, then, of those communities that the Saami moved through the process of assimilation into the large, dominant culture of the United States (and Canda).[2]
    
Notes:

[1]  June Drenning Holmquist, Ed., They Chose Minnesota: A Survey of The State's Ethnic Groups (St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1981), Chpt. 15, Timmo Riippa, "Finns and Swede-Finns," 296-322. Footnote 10, p. 317 contains the quote referred to above. 

[2]  For example, many Saami immigrants could be found in southern Minnesota among Norwegians and Finnish immigrants in Renville and Kandiohi Counties, and the "Finnish Triangle." This has been shown in authoritative fashion since the publication of They Chose Minnesota. For a solid academic work, see, Einar Niemi, "Nils Paul Xavier: Sami Teacher and Pastor on the American Frontier," Norwegian-American Studies, 34 (1995), 245-270. Along that same vein, see also, Ellen Marie Jensen, We Stopped Forgetting: Stories from Sami Americans (Karasjohka-Karasjok, Norway: CaalliidLagadus - Authors' Publisher, 2012), re various locations for Sami American presence, pp. 24-28, re Nils Paul and Amanda Xavier, pp. 30-32.


     Notable among those individuals instrumental in the post 1990s Saami-American Revival are (alphabetically) Jean Marie Brown, Donald Engstrom-Reece, Faith Fjeld, Jennifer Harkonen, Ellen Marie (Elle Marja) Jensen, Arden Johnson, Rudolph "Rudy" Johnson, Solveig Arneng Johnson, Anja Kitti, Vicki Lantto, Cari Mayo, Nathan Muus, Mel Olson, Chris Pesklo, Borghild (Xavier) Selid, Christian Klebo Skjervold II, Alvin Seaberg, Eric Seaberg, Kurt Seaberg, Marlene Wisuri, John Edward Xavier, and others whose names will be entered here over time. These individuals and others have been so prolific and helpful in Saami-American events, publications, and other works that it would be impossible to list their work. It would also be impossible to express enough gratitude for their time, efforts, and sacrifices in what they have done, as principal actors in drama of the Saami-American Revival.
     Of particular note in that revival have been two semi-regular publications, the journal Baiki, published and edited for twenty years by Faith Fjeld (assisted in recent times by Nathan Muus), and the younger newsletter, Arran, published and edited for about sixteen years by Mel Olson and Arden Johnson.[1]



[1]  Baiki has a website: www.baiki.com and a facebook page, facebook.com "Saami Baiki". For Arran, the website access is spotty as of June, 2012, as the periodical is merging itself into a new blog. For now, try
arrant2.blogspot.com.


Appendix I. Elders Known to have Participated in the 1990's Formation of the Sami Siida (Alphabetical Order)

Jean Marie Brown
Faith Fjeld

Nathan Muus

Mel Olson
Chris Pesklo

Appendix II. Periodicals Related to the Saami-American Movement

Baiki

Arran

Rudy Johnsons speech.......

ALf-Isak Keskitalo, "Research as an inter-ethnic activity,  paper delivered at the 7th Nordic Ethnographer held at Tromso Mus in Tromso Norge 29 Aug, 1974, Acta Borealia B. Humanoria, no. 13, pp. 15-42. Tromso Tromso Museum, 1976.

Information for transfer to precursor post: 

Steen, Adolf. Biography (Item no. P0362 )

Nils Paul Xavier, 1839-1918, the Kautokeino-Lapp Who Became Minister in Amerika, 3 typescript pages, by Adolph Steen and translated by Magdalene Xavier Visovatti, a granddaughter of Xavier. The file includes an obituary (clipping) of Xavier.

[1]  They Chose Minnesota: A Survey of the State's Ethnic Groups, June Drenning Holmquist, Ed. (St. Paul, Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1981), p. 511. In fact, at time of publication it was long since true that the Norwegian American Historical Association (NAHA) in Northfield, MN, held substantial documents pertaining to Saami-American history;. Furthermore, NAHA's well-respected journal, Norwegian American Studies, had by 1981 published several articles pertaining to Saami-American history. These articles, listed in an appendix here, were both professionally researched and thoroughly vetted before publication.

     Somewhere along the line of the editorial process, They Chose Minnesota placed any potential Saami matters in the category of the Finnish group. It is really quite understandable that such a decision took place, given the large presence of Finnish immigrants in Minnesota. Furthermore, it is understandable that expertise in the Finnish end of things would not necessarily include knowledge of resources available at NAHA, Vesterheim in Decorah, Iowa, or other resource centers primarily known for the Norwegian side of Nordic studies.