Uncle Jack in World War I: The Kettering Bug

While researching Uncle Jack at Carlstrom Field in central Florida in 1919 and 1920, I came across an interesting bit of military history. Uncle Jack was born Orville P. Bonn on 18 September 1896 in Montevideo, Minnesota and died age 89 on…

Uncle Jack in World War I: Revising the Timeline

I need to report that I overlooked online copies of military muster rolls for World War I, which affect our understanding of the service of granduncle Orville P. Bonn (1896-1985), whom subsequent generations knew as Uncle Jack. I had assumed…

Uncle Jack in World War I: The Italian Connection

This is the fifth in a series of research articles about my granduncle Orville P. "Jack" Bonn (1896-1985). A Montevideo News article announcing Orville P. Bonn's return home in 1920 from three years of military service during World War I…

Uncle Jack in World War 1: Was He Injured?

Was Orville P. "Jack" Bonn (1896-1985) injured during World War I or anytime during his three years of military service?  As discussed in three previous posts, Bonn served in the U.S. Army Air Service 1917-1920.((See here, here, and here.)) Unfortunately,…

Uncle Jack in World War I: Was He an Aviator?

While I look into the reference to granduncle "Jack" Bonn serving in a special detachment that went to Italy, let's address the big question before us. Was Orville P. Bonn (1896-1985) a pilot in World War I? I believe the answer is no. …

Uncle Jack in World War 1: Uniform and Medals

In the last post, I began an exploration of my granduncle Jack Bonn’s service in the U.S. Army Air Service during World War I.  Orville Philip Bonn (1896-1985) was known to the Army as Orville or Orville P. Bonn.  We always knew him…

Uncle Jack in World War I: Part 1

Unfortunate news.  I finally received a substantive response from the National Military Records Center (NMRC) in St. Louis, Missouri about the personnel file for granduncle Jack Bonn (1896-1985).  Tragically, his file was one of those lost…
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New Article Published

I have a new publication out! The Summer 2021 issue of the Minnesota Genealogist includes an article about my great-grandaunt Maren Olsdatter Bønsmoen (1860-1907). Click this link to spawn a pdf copy which may be downloaded:   MGS Summer…

Solved! The Fate of Maren Olsdatter Bønsmoen

In my last blog post (here), I told the story of an 1880s autograph album owned by my great-grandfather Bernt O. Bonn (1856-1937).  In Norway, he was known as Bernt Olsen Bønsmoen.  The album revealed that Bernt went back to Norway over a…

Autograph Album Reveals Bernt Bonn Trip to Norway

It’s another discovery from my Mother’s cache of memorabilia.  I found a small autograph book from the 1880s belonging to my great-grandfather, Bernt Olsen Bønsmoen (1856-1937).  He was born and raised at the Bønsmoen cotter farm…