Circumstances:
Died in service in Luzon, Philippine Islands
Biography:
Morris C. Landsem was born on October 3, 1920 in rural Walcott, North Dakota to parents Martin and Inga Ovidia Berg Landsem. Both Landsems were born in North Dakota to Norwegian immigrant parents. They married in Christine, North Dakota on April 2, 1914. Morris had three brothers: Julian, Herman and Orvin, and three sisters: Marian, Harriet and Gloria. The children were all raised on their farm in Eagle Township, Richland County, North Dakota and attended school in Eagle Township. The children were baptized and confirmed in Richland Lutheran Church in Walcott.
Morris attended school through the eighth grade, then went to work on his father’s farm. On January 17, 1945 Morris enlisted in the Army at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. He was sent to Military Police training and became a member of Headquarters Detachment, 720th Military Police Battalion. The 720th served in three major campaigns during WWII while based in Australia and New Guinea.
Morris was killed on August 27, 1945. It is not known where or how he was killed, but his death was described as “non-battle.” Morris’s body was sent home to be buried in the Richland Lutheran Church Cemetery in Walcott. His parents, who had meanwhile retired and moved to Moorhead, Minnesota, ordered a flat white marble stone for his grave. He was 24 years old.