Private First Class Henry Jenson
– Company L, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division –
Awards: Bronze Star, Purple Heart

Henry Jenson was born on March 10th, 1918 at Fillmore County, Minnesota. His birth mother, Hannah Svensied died in childbirth. The Jenson’s were neighbors of Rasmus and Theoline Svensied who adopted Henry when he was still a baby. Henry also had a twin brother, Orvin Eugene, who was adopted by the Finnerud’s family.

Having only completed the 8th grade, Henry was a clerk in 1940 in a retail store in Warsaw, Goodhue County, Minnesota. Here he was living with the owner of the retail store.

Henry training Fort Snelling Minnesota in January 1942. He training in several places during the next months, and ended up at Fort George G. Made in Maryland in August 1944. Henry became a Private First Class and served in Company L of the 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. On October 6th 1944 an attack was started in order to take one of the road junctions near the Deadman’s Moore area in the Hurtgen Forest. While 1st and 2nd Battalions pushed towards the town of Germeter and cut the main B399 road between Duren and Monschau, 3rd Battalion fought through the Deadman’s Moore and attacked the road junction just west of the Raffelsbrand Junction. A line of bunkers and fortifications were laying ahead of Company L, and days of hard fighting took its toll on the Battalion. Many of the men got killed and wounded. Private First Class Henry Jenson went Missing In Action on October 17th, 1944, during one of the attacks in order to secure the road junction.

Henry Jenson’s name can now be seen on the Wall of Missing at the US Cemetery in Margraten, the Netherlands.

Henry’s name on the Wall of Missing at the Margraten US Cemetery

We will never forget his sacrifice.

Thank you to Francesca Cumero of Angelo’s Angels, Sue Jenson and the Fields of Honor Database.