Orville J. Lund was born on December 17, 1922. He was born at Elk Point, South Dakota. When he was one year old, his family moved to Parker, South Dakota. He was very involved in sports when he was in high school. He graduated from Parker High School in 1940. Orville grew up with four brothers.

Orville joined the Navy on December 19, 1940, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He trained and attended a trade school as a Gunnersmate at Great Lakes, Illinois. He was sent to New York in September, 1941, and assigned to the U.S.S. Bristol which was scheduled to leave in October. Instead, Orville was chosen to go to school to train for range finding and firecontrol off the coast of Maine.

On April 13, 1942, Lund went out to sea on Convoy duty. A year later, he went home on leave and joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars. In May of 1943, he left for the Mediterranean. He was in the invasions of North Africa, Italy, and Sicily; Fire Cont 2C Lund told his family of the terrible storms they had encountered while out to sea, one in which even the Captain of the ship became very ill.

Orville was declared missing in action on October 13, 1942. The official notice of his death was received on November 1, 1943. He was twenty years, ten months, and twenty-six days old. It has been surmised that a German U-boat torpedoed Orville’s ship as they were returning to base in Africa after assisting in the invasion of Italy. Orville’s family was presented with Orville’s Purple Heart Medal.

His family remembers Orville with respect and pride.

This entry was respectfully submitted by Rebecca Ahrendt, 8^th Grade West, Spearfish Middle School, Spearfish, South Dakota, February 17, 2000. Information for this entry was provided by Bob Lund of Sioux Falls, Carrol E. Lund of Irvine, California, Lyle Lund of Westby, Wisconsin, and Elmore Lund of Bakersfield, California, brothers of Orville Lund.