Leonard N. Swingen

Leonard N. “Lennie” Swingen was born August 7, 1916, in Stoughton, the son of Gilbert and Sena Swingen. A lifelong Stoughton resident, he attended Stoughton schools and graduated from Stoughton High School in 1935.

Lennie's connection to the Stoughton Courier Hub began while he was still in high school, when he worked after school and on weekends and also delivered newspapers. After graduation, he joined the newspaper full-time and learned the printing trade. That work would become an important part of his life, interrupted only by his service during World War II.

Lennie initially attempted to enlist in the Army Air Corps but did not pass the entrance examination. Before he could try again, he was called into military service. He entered the U.S. Navy in 1945, one of seven Swingen brothers who served during World War II. After training at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, he traveled by troop train to Seattle and then to the Puget Sound Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington.

There he joined the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill, which had returned to Bremerton for extensive repairs after being struck by two Japanese kamikaze aircraft. Lennie served as a loader on one of the ship's 20mm guns. He later recalled the cramped sleeping quarters, gunnery exercises and flight operations aboard the carrier, including several frightening aircraft accidents he witnessed firsthand. Pasted markdown

By the time Bunker Hill reached Pearl Harbor, the war with Japan had ended. The carrier then became part of the enormous effort to bring American servicemen home from the Pacific. Lennie remained aboard for additional voyages, including trips to Guam and Saipan, as the ship was converted to carry thousands of returning servicemen. Pasted markdown

Years later, Lennie recorded those experiences with characteristic humor. When Evelyn Kahl encouraged him to share his wartime memories, he joked that his service had been “more or less uneventful” and warned readers to “be prepared to be bored to death.” Pasted markdown His detailed recollections proved anything but boring and preserved a remarkable firsthand account of Navy life at the end of World War II.

Lennie was discharged as a Seaman Second Class in April 1946 and returned to Stoughton and the Courier Hub. He remained there until 1955, completing more than 20 years with the newspaper. He then went to work for Strauss Printing in Madison, where he continued his career in the printing trade until retiring in the early 1980s.

On January 18, 1941, Lennie married June Evenson. They made Stoughton their lifelong home and raised their daughter, Lynn.

His commitment to veterans and American Legion Post 59 became another defining part of his life. Lennie was elected Commander of Otis Sampson Post 59 in 1949, succeeding Gordon Chayka, and was installed that fall to serve as Commander for 1950.

His service to Post 59, however, extended far beyond his year as Commander. Lennie remained a member for an extraordinary 76 years and served for many years as Post Historian. His interest in preserving the Post's story left an invaluable record for later generations. His handwritten Reflections and Comments on Post 59, later organized by his daughter Lynn and edited by longtime Post historian Steve Grady, helped preserve information about the men and women who built the organization. Pasted markdown

Outside the Legion, Lennie was a lifelong member of First Lutheran Church and remained active well into later life. He enjoyed bowling for decades, played in a local golf league for many years and was particularly proud of recording a hole-in-one in 1987.

Leonard N. Swingen died on July 27, 2020, just days before what would have been his 104th birthday.

Few individuals had a connection to Post 59 that lasted as long as Lennie's. He served his country during World War II, led the Post as Commander, and then spent decades helping preserve its history. Much of what is known today about Post 59's earlier years survives in part because Lennie took the time to write it down.

His own wartime recollections ended with a quotation that seems particularly fitting for a man who lived nearly 104 years:

“Being a survivor at war's end was a gift to be treasured.”