OLMSTED, MN, USA
U.S. Marines
LCPL, 1ST BN 3D MAR, (RCT-7, MEB-A FWD) 3D MAR DIV, KANEOHE, HI
HELMAND PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN 04/02/2010
Marine Lance Corporal Curtis M. Swenson died on April 2, 2010 as he and his unit the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii supported combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan when a roadside bomb exploded flipping his vehicle.
Curtis was a twenty years young but an experienced and involved mentor of youth. He was very active with his church youth group and really watched out for and befriended the younger kids in the group. The Bethel Lutheran Church in Rochester, Minnesota remembered Curtis as a quiet leader and a wonderful listener. Swenson was very active in that group and he very much 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.
He was a graduate of Rochester Mayo High School and If he was around friends, he always had a good sense of humor and was able to make a lot of people laugh. He had enlisted in 2007, the year he graduated. In class, Swenson was well-liked and a good student. Curtis set a strong, positive example through his actions and his responses to many different situations. Thanks to the internet and Facebook two thousand remembrance comments from comrades and youth he supported provide fleeting glimpses of Curtis Swenson the young man.
Survivors include his wife, Katie; parents, Dave and Kay Swenson; and his younger sister, Emily.