Donald Robert Amundson, Sgt. U.S. Army Air Corps
Donald Robert Amundson was born June 18, 1923 to Omer and Borghild Knudsen Amundson. He died Apr. 9, 2002 and is buried in the Lincoln Cemetery, Ellsworth, IA.
Sgt. Amundson was reported missing in action over Yugoslavia Jan. 24, 1944. He was a gunner on a B-24 bomber. He was captured by the Germans and became a prisoner of war. He was awarded the Purple Heart.
His Obituary: Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City, IA - Apr. 12, 2002
Ronald R. Amundson, 79, Idaho
Donald R. Amundson, 79, Nampa, Idaho, died April 9, 2002. Memorial services are Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Messiah Lutheran Church, 534 W. Iowa St., Nampa, Idaho. Internment will be at a later date in Lincoln Cemetery at Radcliffe.
Don was born in Bode, Iowa, the son of Omer and Borghild Knutslig Amundson. He was baptized at St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Bode. As with many men of the era, Don served in WW II. He was a tail gunner with the 450th bomb group, 720th Squadron on the B24 Liberator (’93 Miss Temptation) ’94. Don was shot down and wounded in action over Bulgaria and was held captive for 18 months as a German prisoner of war.
Don was a quiet hero and seldom discussed his time spent in the prison camp. After the war, he traveled west through Idaho to Medford, Ore. where he met and married George Bowman on August 8, 1949 in Salem, Ore. George preceded him in death on June 19, 2000, a loss which struck him deeply.
Donald worked in retail sales for 45 years as a store manager for J.C. Penney and R.H. Macy department stores. He could never forget the beauty of Idaho so in 1988 he decided to retire to Nampa where he spent some of the happiest years of his life.
He was active in several organizations—the Elks Club, American Legion, American Ex-Prisoner of War, VFW, 15th Air Force Association, Sons of Norway, Purple Heart Society, and the Norwegian Club of San Francisco. He was a faithful member of the Messiah Lutheran Church.
Donald is survived by his sisters, Betty Abbas of Iowa Falls, LaVonne Johnson of Webster City, brothers Herbert Amundson of Newark, Del, and Roger Amundson of Webster City. He will live long in the hearts of his children, Robert Amundson of Soldata, Alaska, Donald and Kim Amundson of San Jose, Calif., Anna and Ronald Anderson of Nampa, Bruce and Elaine Amundson of Vallejo, Calif., grandchildren Alan Jameson, David Howell, Steven, Paul, Mark, Ian and Robert Amundson and great-grandchildren, Cassandra, Riley and Braiden.
He was preceded in death by his wife, George, parents, five brothers and sisters, Ruth Reed, Omer (JR) Amundson, Barbara Ites, Claude Amundson and James Amundson.
Donald was a gentleman and a truly fine man who was blessed with a good life filled with family and friends.
Sources:
Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City, IA
ancestry.com
450th Bomb Group website
