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A Tribute to the Swedish American Line | ||||||||
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A Tribute to the Swedish American Line | ||||||||
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Chief Radio Operator Sune Edensvard
Gripsholm 1925 - to the 1950's
This story has been contributed by Sune Edensvard's granddaughter Kristina Blakstad.
kristinablakstad.com
Sune Edensvärd served as Chief Radio Operator on the Gripsholm in the 1920's to the 1950's. In 1929 he married Valborg on board the Gripsholm. She worked in the Elizabeth Arden store (with the red door), on 5th Avenue in New York. As a young boy, Sune Edensvärd's son worked on the Gripsholm on one voyage, as an Elevator Piccolo. He served during the exchange voyages during World War 2. The crew was promised voyages home several times, but instead there were new voyages to other countries during the war. He served on board when the Gripsholm sailed in a convoy in the Mediterranean Sea. It was a time of great tension, as they could be torpedoed at any time. Many became ill of this uncertainty. During 2.5 years, his wife Valborg did not know whether Sune was alive or not. She lived with their four children on Godhemsgatan in Gothenburg, in the beautiful red brick building where employees of the Swedish American Line could live. Valborg has thrown away all all the letters from Sune during the war, because there were terrible things discribed in them, which the children should not read. I talked with the barber, Rune Dahlstrand, who was on board during the war, but he did not remember Sune. (Read about Rune Dahlstrand here). This is not so strange, as there were about 500 crew members. He told me that many commited suicide during this period. Sune continued to work on board some years after the war. He received a medal after the war, however the medal came from the USA, not from Sweden. The medal is still in our posession Kristina Blakstad |
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More than 250 web pages developed and maintained by Lars Hemingstam ©1998-2023
Hasse Gustafsson and Tommy Stark have interviewed crew members and contributed many of the stories.
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