Obituary: Shorewood Man Was 'Very Proud' to be Navy Aviator

Roy Sorensen served for 24 years in the Navy as a fighter pilot, flying planes in World War II and the Korean War.   

"He was all Navy," his wife Rhodell said Friday. "He was very proud to be a Navy aviator." 

The longtime Shorewood resident died Dec. 24. He was 88. 

Rhodell Soreensen said her husband did not talk much about the battles he was in. Rather he spoke of the lifelong friendships he made in the military. 

"His wingman in the Korean Conflict was a prisoner of war for six-and-a-half years. That fella never really talked about his experience," she said. "I think a lot of guys did not want to relive it."

According to a Minneapolis-St. Paul television station, Sorensen is part of a family line of war veterans. His father, a Danish immigrant, served in World War I and his son, David, was a naval pilot in the first Gulf War, according to the TV station.   

Sorensen's naval flying career began with a splash. During his first training flight, Sorensen took off from Glenview Naval Air Station near Chicago while flying a SBD Dauntless on Dec. 3, 1944. As he attempted to take off from the USS Sable in Lake Michigan, the plane's engine failed, according to the Palm Springs Air Museum. 

Thirty-five years later, the Navy raised the plane from the depths of the lake. It was restored and is displayed at the museum. 

The museum's web site has this description of the incident Sorensen's own words: 

"I was a boot ensign and just beginning my carrier training out of Glenview NAS near Chicago. I had taken the SBD off and completed my first landing aboard the carrier. I was one happy guy. I had seven more landings to complete to meet my qualification. On my first departure from the carrier, my engine quit and I, fortunately, was able to land on the lake without flipping. I shoved out of the cockpit and swam a few feet away from the plane as it disappeared in a flurry of bubbles. The Navy rescued me from the cold waters of Lake Michigan."

Years later, while serving in the Korean War, Sorensen lent his clothing and flight gear to William Holden for the movie, "Bridges at Toko Ri," according to the museum. 

A few years ago, Sorensen traveled to Dunkirk, France, the site of a 1940 battle against the Germans.

"He walked the beaches and saw what those guys went through," his wife said. "He was so horrified to see how open our guys were, they were just slaughtered." 

After his military career, Sorensen, who lived in Shorewood for about 40 years, worked for the Procter & Gamble and then became a branch manager for the Monroe Calculator Co. He loved to hunt and fish with his family and friends, according to his wife.

"He enjoyed the outdoors," she said. "He enjoyed the hunting and fishing, not just to go with a group of guys."  

Sorensen is survived by three sons, Joe (Cindy), David (Margaret), and Jim (Alice); as well as seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, according to the death notice on the Web site. 

Private interment was to be held at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis and memorials in Sorensen's name can be made to the Salvation Army, the death notice said.