Marine Lance Cpl. Curtis M. Swenson
Death: Apr 02, 2010
of Rochester Minn.; assigned to the 1st Battalion 3rd Marine Regiment 3rd Marine Division III Marine Expeditionary Force Kaneohe Bay Hawaii; Died April 2 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province Afghanistan. Hundreds remember Marine at vigil The Associated Press ROCHESTER Minn. — A giant American flag fluttered from a fire truck ladder as hundreds of people honored a Marine from Rochester who Died in Afghanistan. The family of Lance Cpl. Curtis M. Swenson sat in the front row at the April 8 candlelight vigil. The Post-Bulletin of Rochester reported that it was a somber ceremony attended by families teenagers gray-haired veterans and baby-faced Boy Scouts. The ceremony came a week after the Humvee in which Swenson was riding hit a roadside bomb that flipped the vehicle killing the 20-year-old Mayo High School graduate. Enjoyed spending time outdoors The Associated Press At Bethel Lutheran Church in Rochester Minn. Curtis Swenson is remembered as a “quiet leader” and a good listener who befriended younger kids in the youth group. Swenson was active in that group and enjoyed the outdoors — hunting camping fishing and skiing. He also was one of the Bethel Believers the church softball team for which he had belted a grand slam in his last performance along with another homer. “If he was around friends he always had a good sense of humor and was able to make a lot of people laugh” Bethel youth director Michael Beckmann said. Swenson20 of Rochester was killed by an explosive device April 2 in Helmand province Afghanistan. He was assigned to Kaneohe Bay Hawaii and had served in Iraq in 2008. Friends posting on a Facebook page said they had admired Swenson as a man and as a Marine. He had enlisted in 2007 the year he graduated from Rochester Mayo High School. In class Swenson was well-liked and a good student Principal Tim Dorway said. Survivors include his wife Katie; parents Dave and Kay Swenson; and his younger sister Emily. Operation Enduring Freedom