Warren J. Christensen
Warren was born 12DEC1918 in Milwaukee, WI. His father was a first generation American of Danish descent and his mother was born in Sweden. The family lived on a small farm in Kimberly, WI where Warren attended elementary school in a two room building. They moved to Aitkin, MN where the family continued farming. Warren was very athletic, excelling in boxing, ice skating, and throwing the javelin. His favorite sport was baseball, where at 6' and 175 pounds, he was an excellent pitcher.
After high school, he spent some time with the Civilian Conservation Corps and was also in the National Guard as an artillery man. His time in the Guard saw him stationed in Alabama and California. He attended Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Paul, MN to get the required two years college that was necessary for flying school. Warren enlisted in the Army Air Corps as as aviation cadet 19OCT1941. Basic was at Lemoore, CA and advanced at Luke Field, AZ where we was a May 1942 graduate of class 42-E. Christensen was one of four 118th pilots (Christensen, Cox, Davis, Eley) that would be together from Basic Flying School in March 1942 to the CBI theater. In India, Christensen would be assigned to 'A Flight' where he was the assistant flight leader.
The 118th received orders and departed Chabua, India 12JUN1944 heading for Kunming, China. The pilots would be ferrying their P-40s over the hump. Approximately 180 miles into the flight, Christensen developed a problem with his oxygen supply. He contacted McComas by radio and stated that he was heading back for Chabua. Christensen never made it back and is listed as MIA. MACR 5810