Above is Carl Ofstedahl’s restored and enhanced World War I unit photo. Carl is in the third row back behind the top left of the Company K sign. The original panorama photo is in the possession of Tom Laird.

The Ofstedahl Family in World War I

Brothers Elmer, Carl, and Gerhard “Gee” Ofstedahl all served in World War I, all in Europe - Elmer in the Canadian Army, Carl and Gee in the U. S. Army. Gee was an officer, Elmer lost his leg in combat in France, and Carl is shown above with his unit. The story of Elmer’s service is particularly poignant, and one news article below listed him as “missing in action”, which had to be a tribulation for his mother and family - who had already experienced extreme loss in the years leading up to the World War.

Many other extended family members, including their cousins Ted Ofstedahl, Rudy Lavik, Ing Lavik and others, all also served. Photos of the Laviks are in the Lavik Photograph Collection on this website - and there is a reference to Ted Ofstedahl in Rudy Lavik’s letters home, as well as a reference to his service in a local history, included in the section on Nils Ofstedahl.

The last American veteran from that war died in 2011. American service records were destroyed in a fire, and all we have is their last payment and what was passed to family members - although because Elmer was in the Canadian Army, his records survive, as do many items passed on to Carl at the time of his death. This is the story we can piece together of the Ofstedahl brothers during that time - from service records, items they left behind with family members, newspaper articles, and references in local histories.

What’s Here: I decided to present this information individually - what we know about Carl Ofstedahl, then what we know about Gerhard Ofstedahl, and then a section on Elmer. I then posted items from Grafton on the war, and then posted various items from the post-war era that reflect on their service. A wonderful 2020 Veterans Day tribute to Carl, written by my brother Tom Laird for his hometown newspaper, closes out this web page.

Special Note: The Ofstedahl family has always referred to Elmer’s World War I experience - being shot in battle and having his leg amputated. He lived for fifty years after that happened, on crutches the rest of his life. As I prepared this page, and went deeply into his service record and the details - a story emerged that I did not understand before. There have been movies about the mud, the trenches, and the senseless loss in that war. It turns out that Elmer was at the heart of that experience. He was wounded on one of the bloodiest days of that war - in the Third Ypres campaign, the battle at Passchendaele, in the Flanders portion of Belgium. In the section on him below, I have quoted a few sources on that battle, but I intend to do a deeper telling of that story in the future. Elmer was one of fifteen thousand Canadian casualties in the few days of this particular incident. I do not ever recall him talking about it to family members - the particulars did not show up in oral interviews.

Carl Ofstedahl . . .

I am presenting information about each family member who was in World War I, starting with my own grandfather, Carl Ofstedahl. At the time of the outbreak of hostilities, Carl was living in Pembina County, North Dakota - just to the north of his home county of Walsh, where Grafton is. Carl’s unit photo - which I had restored, is at the top of this page.

One of the family stories passed down was that soldiers always saluted the arrival of an officer. Carl was in his barracks one day and everyone got up and saluted an officer - and the officer turned out to be his brother Gerhard.

We are lucky that Carl saved many of the records about his service - the story of Carl Ofstedahl in World War I follows. As the biography shows, Carl spent three years in Company C of the North Dakota National Guard and I’ll begin with his discharge form before posting the World War I items. Elmer, Gee, and Carl all served in the National Guard, and Gee rose in the ranks and served in the Mexican border conflict.

Carl Ofstedahl registered for the World War I draft on June 5, 1917 in Canton Villages, Pembina County, North Dakota, and the registration is shown above. He was shown as single, and had served as a private in the North Dakota National Guard. He is shown as a resident of Hensel, and his occupation was a lumber yard manager with Robertsons Lumber Company. Below are three post cards that Carl received in Hensel, in January and February 1918 about his coming service. These were records that Carl kept and are in the family’s possession.

The two news articles above were from the Pembina Express of March 22, 1918 and April 5, 1918. Carl Ofstedahl from Hensel was in the first quota of 62 men entering the service from Pembina County. Those first soldiers left for Camp Dodge on March 30, which would have been the Saturday prior to the article on the right.. Camp Dodge, in Johnston, Iowa - roughly ten miles north west of the capitol of Des Moines, was a regional training center for soldiers during World War I.

Above is Carl Ofstedahl’s “Enlistment Record”. It actually is a record of his World War I service. It matches the news articles above about his entry into the service. It states that he returned to the United States of April 23, 1919, and he was paid in full on May 6, 1919 at Camp Dodge, Iowa. World War I service records were lost in a fire. All that is available directly from the government is the last pay for a soldier. Fortunately, Carl saved some of his records, such as the one above - so we have the information through him.

Above is a photo of Carl Ofstedahl’s World War I helmet, which is in the possession of Tom Laird.

In the oral history of Carl’s daughter Lois, which I recorded in 1999, there’s a section on Carl’s World War I service: “John: Did your Dad ever talk to you about him being in World War I?

Lois: Yeah, a few things, but he didn’t talk much about it.  One thing I do remember, he was in France, and he said one night it was awfully cold and they were walking, and two girls came around the corner and they spoke English.  And he said it was so nice to hear two girls speaking English.  And then he was in the Battle of Aragon [Argonne], where the supplies came . . . did I tell you this? John: No.

Lois: . . . where the supplies came like one bulk thing at a time.  And nothing was coordinated.  At one time they got nothing but sugar and they had nothing but sugar.

John: I did hear the story that one time they . . .

Lois: He met Gee . .

John: They had to salute, and they were all saluting, and it turned out it was his brother.  It’s a good old family story.”. 

Below is Carl Ofstedahl’s final payment for his World War I service. Above I mention that service records were destroyed in a fire, and this is all the government has to offer. My mother had to request the record, as the next of kin. The amount matches that in the “enlistment record” above, and his service number matches that in the ship passenger record above.

Above is Carl’s listing in a North Dakota listing of World War I soldiers. It is a good summary of his service.

(John) Gerhard “Gee” Ofstedahl . . .

Gee Ofstedahl, the oldest of the Ofstedahl brothers, had service in the North Dakota National Guard - spending time at the Mexican border - and entered World War I as an officer. He did not register for the World War I draft, as mentioned in the biography below. In the case of Gee, I have put his World War I biography from the North Dakota listing first, because it includes all his service - in both the National Guard Company C and in World War I, and gives context for the other items posted. His name was John Gerhard Ofstedahl, and he is mentioned in different listings as J. G., John G., and Gerhard. Below is the biography of him I referenced above from the North Dakota listing.

The photo above is also from the book Walsh County in the World War. It is possible Gee is in this photo, but there is no identification key.

Captain John G. Ofstedahl returned to the United States on the S. S. President Grant on January 18, 1919. The President Grant was a German ship launched in 1903, which was taken over by the U. S. Navy during World War I.

Elmer Ofstedahl . . .

Elmer Ofstedahl served in the North Dakota National Guard, as did his brothers. Not long after his father’s death in 1911, Elmer moved to Saskatchewan Canada in Gull Lake - near his uncle Albert Markuson, his aunt Lillie Englestad and their families. He worked as a printer (In at least one place, his occupation was listed as compositor - which was someone who laid out the type for printing). Canada entered World War I before the United States, and Elmer enlisted in Swift Current - near Gull Lake.

Elmer served in France and Belgium, and was wounded twice - the second time at Passchendaele during one of the bloodiest campaigns of the World War, requiring the amputation of his leg. He was hospitalized for much of his remaining service in the war.

In 2017, I was in Whitefish, Montana for the Western Governors Association meeting. The Ambassador from Canada to the United States spoke at that conference, and offered that his grandfather was an American who came across the border and served in the Canadian Army during World War I. I approached him after his speech, and told him that I had a family member who had a similar path. He mentioned that the government had put the service records for World War I Canadian soldiers online, and asked if I had a business card. Days later his assistant called the office and asked for Elmer’s unit information. A long 104 page pdf complete copy of his service file arrived after that - and parts of it are posted below to describe different pieces of Elmer’s service. - although the file is so voluminous, it was hard to decide which pieces to post

Also, Elmer left various records that I have - his pay book, a few certificates, and journals from his service. Unfortunately, the journals are not about his experience, but were notes - taken mostly in pencil - from his training. Of the three Ofstedahl brothers, Elmer had the most profound war experience, and this section will include as much as I have found to tell the story. A summary and photo from the Walsh County North Dakota World War I book is below:

Elmer Moves to Canada . . .

Elmer Ofstedahl is shown in the Register of Homestead Grants for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The application was made on March 3, 1913, and the date of the grant was January 28, 1919.

An edited version of Elmer Ofstedahl’s entry in the 1916 Canadian census, in Gull Lake Saskatchewan, where he is shown with his Uncle Albert Markuson and family. Late on the same page is Oscar and Lilllie Markuson Englestad, also Elmer’s Uncle and Aunt. Elmer is shown as 26, a printer, Lutheran, arrived in Saskatchewan in 1913. Importantly, he is shown as a soldier.

Above is Elmer Ofstedahl’s “Alien Certificate” from the U. S. Department of Labor, dated December 1916. It lists Canada and under remarks has Grafton, North Dakota. It is unclear what the legal purpose this served, but did mention that he “will be admitted to the United States upon proper identification”.

Elmer Joins the Canadian Army . . .

Below is Elmer’s “Attestation Paper”, which appears to be his application for his Canadian Army service. J. G. Ofstedahl of Grafton, North Dakota is listed as his next of kin. He is listed as a resident of Gull Lake, single, a printer, and he lists four years prior service in the “American National Guard”. He is shown fair in complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair. The document is dated April 6, 1918.

Once Elmer enlisted he served in the Canadian Army for two and a half years.

He was wounded twice, and his second wound, in early November 1917, led to the amputation of his leg. He was in hospitals and medical care until he was discharged in Toronto in November 1918 - a few days after the armistice was signed ending the war. There are many entries in his service file, there is his paybook that lists some locations and dates, and there are news articles that appeared back in the United States. Because Canada provided a service file of over one hundred pages - and because American service files were lost - we know much more about Elmer’s service than we do about his brothers.

Behind it all is the actual story of the war. Because Britain was in the war at its outbreak, and Canadian involvement tracked the British involvement, Elmer was in Europe by the time America entered the war and his brothers joined the American Army. Elmer’s wound in the Battle of Passchendaele (the Third Ypres campaign) in early November, 1917 - was a battle in which French, British, Canadian, and troops from other nations faced off against the Germans.

In the “History of the 31st Battalion C. E. F. (Canadian Expeditionary Force) November 1914 to June 1919”, by Major H. C. Singer and A. A. Peoples, published ca 1938, there is a listing in the appendix that includes all members of the 31st. E. Ofstedahl is shown, number #252739, wounded, receiving the Military Medal.

Elmer’s Notebooks from Training Camp . . .

Among Elmer’s effects from this period are three notebooks, containing just over three hundred pages of notes taken during this period, likely while he was at Camp Hughes. For the first years I had these, I was so disappointed that they were not journals describing his service. The notes are taken in pencil, and in some cases are faded. In scanning, I was able to bring out some of those notes. But upon reflection, some of the notes have dates. Others are about grenades, trenching, and other military knowledge that was in play during the battles in Flanders. I will post some of the pages below.

Above are the covers of two of the three notebooks Elmer Ofstedahl filled during his training at camp. Below is the inside front cover of the first book, and the first page of notes. It shows Elmer in the 209th Battalion, and has his service number. The notes are first dated June 27 and 28. I was confused by the listing for the 209th Battalion but there is a brief wikipedia page linked here for the 209th that states that the 290th was out of Swift Current, where Elmer enlisted - and then was merged later in the war.

Partway through the notebook - in an entry dated July 4 - Elmer took notes on the subject of “Protection At Rest”. It exemplifies the training, as he would head the notebook with a different subject and then take the notes on that subject.

The last date shown in this first notebook of Elmer’s - a few pages before the end of the notebook - gives the date of July 10. That indicates that the entire notebook was filled between June 27 and July 10 - there were a few other dated pages in between - and the training was of an intensity that he was able to take that many notes. The page below includes notes about “Duties”.

Elmer’s second notebook of training notes, the cover of which is at the top right of this notebook section, had the binding at top - so that the notes were written down each page and then flipped to the next. This notebook, which appears to be from continued training, includes some diagrams. One of the diagrams, shown below, is of “Hand Grenade No. 19”. The next page after the diagram, is shown at right and appears to have a description.

The notebook page below appears to be titled “British Front Line Trench”, and shows the German front lines and trenches up to them. There appears to be no explanation in the notes following.

The page below - which appears to be a diagram of trenching - was on the notebook page just prior to the page shown above.

Below is an additional trench diagram, shown later in the same notebook, and appears to show trenches facing German Trenches. I have surmised that the initials BFL stands for British Front LIne; BSL stands for British Second(ary) Line; and RL stands for Rear Line.

Also in this third notebook were notes that included sections on use of scouts, duties of rear guard, fire discipline, conduct of the attack, company in the attack, defence (sic) general principles, the encounter, pursuit, night march, reconnaissance, military law, fines for drunkenness, field engineering, and earthworks.  Those titles give you a flavor of the notes taken in this, the third notebook.

While I posted the covers, and twelve or thirteen pages from the notebooks – there were over three hundred pages of notes in these three different notebooks.  A reading of the entirety might reveal even more about how soldiers were to act. Elmer was a diligent note taker, and it is interesting the breadth of training he went through before they left Canada and went into battle in Europe.  As shown below, Elmer was in two of the most intense battles of World War I.  It will be interesting to see how historians reflect on whether training prepared any of the soldiers for the challenging situations they actually encountered.

Another help in determining Elmer’s timeline is his Pay Book, which is first dated the day after he sailed from Halifax . . .

The Battle at Passchendaele - Elmer Ofstedahl Grievously Wounded on November 6, 1917 . . .

Elmer’s service file reports that he was wounded on November 6, 1917 at Passchendaele. That places him in the middle of one of the bloodiest and needless battles of World War I. I hope to do a more detailed analysis of that campaign and of the battle that day, and find some photos and maps that are in the public domain. In the meantime, here are two brief descriptions of that battle, along with a few maps and photos.

The Britannica has this about that battle and that day:

“Victory and loss

Very little progress was made. On November 6, however, Canadian troops advanced the few hundred yards necessary to occupy the site of what had been the village of Passchendaele (northeast of Ypres, about 5 miles [8 km] from the nearest front on the salient when the offensive had begun on July 31). A final assault, which secured the remaining areas of high ground east of the Ypres salient, was carried out on November 10. Haig at last called a halt, his honour satisfied. He was, in a practical sense, no nearer reaching the ports that formed his goal than when the Third Battle of Ypres started. His dream of a decisive victory had faded. Some 61 Victoria Crosses, the British Empire’s highest decoration for military valour, were awarded after the fighting. More Victoria Crosses—14 in total—were awarded for actions on the opening day of the Battle of Passchendaele than for actions on any other single day of combat in World War I.

The armies under British command suffered some 275,000 casualties at Passchendaele, a figure that makes a mockery of Haig’s pledge that he would not commit the country to "heavy losses.” Among these were 38,000 Australians, 5,300 New Zealanders, and more than 15,600 Canadians; this final figure was almost exactly the total that had been predicted by Currie ahead of the battle. The Germans suffered 220,000 killed or wounded. At the end, the point of it all was unclear. In 1918 all the ground that had been gained there by the Allies was evacuated in the face of a looming German assault. Passchendaele would be remembered as a symbol of the worst horrors of the First World War, the sheer futility of much of the fighting, and the reckless disregard by some of the war’s senior leaders for the lives of the men under their command.”

The Library and Archives of Canada wrote:

“Passchendaele (the 3rd Battle of Ypres). Passchendaele, October 26–November 10, 1917 Source: Gerald W.L. Nicholson, Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919: The Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War (Ottawa: Queen's Printer and Controller of Stationery, 1962), p. 326.

October 26-November 10, 1917 - The Misery of Passchendaele

"It was really a miserable day, quite miserable. We were lying practically on the bed of the river which had been shelled all to pieces and it was just a marshy bog… our company headquarters got blown to pieces… before we started off… and the battle hadn't even begun."

Alex Strachan, 43rd Battalion, War diary of 43rd Battalion. RG 9, series III-D-3, vol. 4938, file 434

Passchendaele, or the 3rd Battle of Ypres, was one of the most controversial battles of the entire war, denounced by contemporary politicians as savage, vain, bloody, and as a pitiful waste of human courage.

The spectre of soldiers dying, even drowning in a sea of mud, was so harrowing that it inspired poets, composers and artists to depict the unspeakable horror years after it took place. Nature conspired to turn the battlefield into the nightmare they described.

Situated in a low-lying area reclaimed from marshy lands by means of an elaborate drainage system, the vulnerable terrain was easily and quickly destroyed by shellfire; once shelling started, flooding would rapidly turn the whole battlefield into a sea of mud.

To add to the misery, Flanders was notorious for wet weather, which usually started in the late fall. Canadian troops took over operations at Passchendaele on October 26 and extended British efforts that yielded an advance of only nine kilometres on the Allied front and did not succeed in meeting the ultimate objective for the battle—breaking through German lines and freeing Belgian ports of the German U-boat menace.”

Maps of The Third Battle of Ypres (and the battle for Passchendaele) . . .

The two maps below, both of which were the result of a Google search of maps in the public domain, are of the Battle in which Elmer was wounded. The significance of the map at left is showing how the lines moved in this area during the campaign. The last line at the top right represents gains made by November 10, 1917 - Elmer was wounded on November 6 - and show how the armies “captured” Passchendaele in this period. The map at right shows Canadian troop movements in this period. The arrows represent how Canadian troops moved during this period. I have as yet been unable to match what is shown on the map with Elmer’s division.

This photo was described as: “GENERAL SCENES ON THE WESTERN FRONT DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR: THE THIRD BATTLE OF YPRES, PASSCHENDAELE, 1917. Canadian stretcher bearers carrying a wounded soldier through the mud of the Ypres Salient, 1917.” It is in this area that Elmer was in a Canadian unit and was wounded. It further states that “This image is in the public domain because it is a mere mechanical scan or photocopy of a public domain original, or – from the available evidence – is so similar to such a scan or photocopy that no copyright protection can be expected to arise. The original itself is in the public domain for the following reason: This work created by the United Kingdom Government is in the public domain.” The photo is at this location.

Above is a copy of Elmer’s discharge certificate from his service file. He may well have lost his copy, as a replacement copy - which I have - is posted below.

Elmer O Returning From WWI . . . 

United States Border Crossings from Canada to United States

Abstract of Record of Elmer Crossing from Canada to the United States in December 1918:

Name: Elmer Ofstedahl

Arrival Date: Dec 1918

Arrival Port: Winnipeg, Manitoba,

Age: 27

Birth Year (Estimated): 1891

Birthplace: Nd Grafton,

Birth Country: USA

Gender: Male

Race: Scandinavian

Source: Affiliate Publication Title: Manifests of Passengers Arriving in the St. Albans, VT, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, 1895-1954 , Affiliate Publication Number: M1464 , Affiliate Film Number: 358a

On January 4, 1919, Elmer was issued two war service badges - one for his service in France and the other for his service in England. The badges were not passed along with the other World War I materials of Elmer’s and are presumed lost. Posted here are the certificates issued with the badges - and according to the certificates, were required to be carried whenever the badges were worn.

Elmer - Items related to service, after the war . . .

Below is Elmer’s Certificate of Service, which was a replacement dated 1931. The request for replacement is below left.It states that “issued following loss of Permanent Discharge Certificate”. He is shown as having been discharged on November 21, 1918 - ten days after the armistice was signed that ended the war - in Toronto, Canada - where he had been in the hospital. It states that he was 27 years old, six feet tall, fair complexion, blue eyes, brown hair. A copy of his original discharge certificate from his file is shown above.

Grafton Publications on the World War . . .

The 50th Anniversary Book for the Grafton Lutheran Church had a section on “The Great War” and the Ofstedahl brothers are listed, as well as Carl’s lifelong best friend Allen Newgard.

The 1982 Grafton One Hundredth Anniversary Book had sections on the Mexican Involvement of Company C from Grafton and also the World War. First, the sections on the Mexican conflict. Gerhard’s biography above shows that he was with Company C, and an officer, during the time they were in the Mexican Border conflict. It appears that all three Ofstedahl Brothers were in Company C - Carl’s biography above states he was in between 1909 and 1912; and Elmer’s biography indicates he was in Company C from 1907 to 1911 - but neither Carl nor Elmer were in Company C during the time of the Mexican Border Conflict.

After the War . . .

When I was a child, I recall my grandfather Carl Ofstedahl talking about why he was a member of the American Legion. The other option for membership in a veterans organization was the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Carl said he believed that there should be an organization for all who served - whether they were served overseas or not, and that was why he was a member of the American Legion.

For some reason, Carl was concerned about his American Legion membership in 1928 - and in 1963 wrote the American Legion rep in Geddes, who contacted the South Dakota state organization. Those letters are below. It is possible he would have had a 35 year anniversary, but that is only speculation. These letters were in the possession of my mother - and he had probably saved them, and his wife Jo kept them after he was gone.

My Brother Tom Laird’s Tribute to Carl Ofstedahl on Veterans Day, 2020. . .

My brother Tom Laird authored an article for Veterans Day 202 that appeared on he front page of his hometown newspaper, the Mariposa Gazette. It describes our grandfather Carl Ofstedahl’s war service and life - including the photo of his World War I unit - and is a wonderful tribute to him and close to this webpage.