John Lincoln “Buddy” Haglund was born at Saint Anthony, Hennepin County, Minnesota on February 12, 1925. His nickname was Buddy. His parents were Knute Martin Harold Haglund (4 Oct 1898 – 28 Jan 1989), who was born in Sweden; and Corinne A. (Carlson) Haglund (1 May 1900 – 2 Feb 1984), who was born in Minnesota. He had two younger brothers, Harold L. Haglund (24 Jun 1928 – 14 Dec 1987) and Dr. William A. Haglund (abt 1930 – unk).
Knute Haglund immigrated from Sweden in 1916. He embarked on the ship Stockholm at Gothenburg, Sweden, and arrived at Ellis Island, Port of New York, on August 18, 1916. In 1918 he lived at 2112 16th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota; his nearest relative is listed as Elsa Haglund, who lived at the same address. By January 1920 Knute Haglund lived at Saint Anthony, Hennepin County, Minnesota in the household of his future in-laws, John Carlson (abt 1871 – Nov 1948) and Ida J. Carlson (abt 1877 – Feb 1950), and their daughter Corinne Carlson.
Knute Haglund and Corinne Carlson married by 1924. In 1930 they lived at Saint Anthony, Hennepin County, Minnesota, and John and Ida Carlson lived with them. In 1940 the family lived on a farm on Highway 8 in Rose Township, Ramsey County, Minnesota. (This was Old Highway 8, Roseville, Minnesota, which lies near the border between Ramsey and Hennepin Counties, close to St. Anthony.) His father was a vegetable farmer on a truck farm.
Sgt Haglund entered the U.S. Army from Hennepin County, Minnesota. His home of record was Route 12, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota. He was engaged to be married when he went overseas.
He completed Army Air Forces aerial gunnery training and was assigned to the heavy bomber crew of Second Lieutenant Charlton A. Deuschle. The crew completed operational training in the States (possibly at Sioux City, Iowa) and deployed to England. They inprocessed at the Combat Crew Replacement Center at Bovingdon, England in early July 1944, and were assigned to the 838th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group. This Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.
Sgt Haglund and seven of his crew mates were killed in action on August 5, 1944 when their aircraft, B-17G 43-38007, was shot down by flak on a mission to bomb an aircraft engine factory at Magdeburg, Germany. The aircraft received direct hits just before bombs away, and exploded within seconds. The fuselage broke apart aft of the ball turret, and part of the right wing came off. Most of the men were either killed instantly, or were ejected from the aircraft without their chutes. Sgt Haglund may have been pinned in his position in the tail. The aircraft crashed near Lostau, Germany, about 13 kilometers southwest of Burg, near Magdeburg. Pilot 2/Lt Deuschle and gunner Sgt Robert J. Crooker survived and became prisoners of war. The dead were buried initially at the village cemetery in Lostau (possibly in Alter Friedhof Lostau, the Old Lostau Cemetery).
Sgt Haglund's remains were returned to the United States after the war, and reinterred at Hillside Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 22, 1949.
B-17G 43-38007 crew:
• Deuschle, Charlton A – 2/Lt – Pilot – POW
• Steffens, Eugene F – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA
• Underwood, Allan B – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA
• Gregory, Jesse E – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA
• Late, Carl L – T/Sgt – Engineer – KIA
• Cochran, William J – S/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA
• Hinkson Jr, Harry M – Sgt – Tail Gunner – KIA
• Deelaney, Grady E – Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – KIA
• Haglund, John L – Sgt – Waist Gunner – KIA
• Crooker, Robert J – Sgt – Waist Gunner – POW
Note: The crew roster in Missing Air Crew Report 7893 lists Sgt Haglund as a waist gunner and Sgt Hinkson as the tail gunner; but the casualty questionnaires completed by Lt Deuschle and Sgt Crooker state that on this mission Sgt Haglund was the tail gunner and Sgt Hinkson was the left waist gunner.
Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com