Elmer Rhenstrom

Elmer Gustaf "Swede" Rhenstrom (August 18, 1895 – December 26, 1967) was World War I ace and later airline manager. He was also a football player for a brief time.[1]

Biography

Rhenstrom was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin.[2] He was the son of Anthony Rhenstrom (1865–1955) and Emma Stahl Rhenstrom (1866–1939), both immigrants from Sweden.[2] He served as a pilot in France during the First World War, where he shot down two (unofficially three) enemy aircraft, for which he was referred to as an ace.[1][3] He was awarded the Silver Star in 1941 for his activity during the war.[4]

After the war, Rhenstrom married Dorothy Virginia Miles in 1920.[3] He was briefly a player in the National Football League for the Racine Legion in 1922 as an end.[1] He had earlier played at the collegiate level at Beloit College.[3][5]

In 1928 he joined Fairfield Aviation in Riverside, Ohio,[1][6] and in 1929 he became a manager at Texas Air Transport Inc.[6] In the 1940s he was an officer at Scott Field near Belleville, Illinois.[4]

References
  1. "Kenosha Ace Joins Flying Firm in East". Kenosha News. Kenosha, WI. February 2, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved May 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. "Wisconsin Births and Christenings, 1826-1926", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XRDH-RMZ : 30 January 2020), Elmer Gustav Rhenstrom, 1895.
  3. "Rites Culminate College Romance". Kenosha News. Kenosha, WI. November 26, 1920. p. 3. Retrieved May 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. "Scott Field Officer Gets Medal for World War Deed". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, MO. October 23, 1941. p. 41. Retrieved May 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. "Star Athlete Joins Army". Kenosha News. Kenosha, WI. May 2, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved May 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. "Rhenstrom Is Air Manager". Kenosha News. Kenosha, WI. January 21, 1929. p. 7. Retrieved May 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. open access


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