This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Tommy Burgdorf (Birddog), FC2
to remember
Sellstrom, Edward Robert, Jr. (Doc), ENS.
If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Casualty Info
Home Town Rockwell City. IA
Last Address Rockwell City, IA
Casualty Date Jun 21, 1942
Cause Non Hostile- Died Other Causes
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Sea
Location Pacific
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Gowrie Township Cemetery - Gowrie, Iowa
Description The plan of the Pacific subseries was determined by the geography, strategy, and the military organization of a theater largely oceanic. Two independent, coordinate commands, one in the Southwest Pacific under General of the Army Douglas MacArthur and the other in the Central, South, and North Pacific (Pacific Ocean Areas) under Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, were created early in the war. Except in the South and Southwest Pacific, each conducted its own operations with its own ground, air, and naval forces in widely separated areas. These operations required at first only a relatively small number of troops whose efforts often yielded strategic gains which cannot be measured by the size of the forces involved. Indeed, the nature of the objectivesùsmall islands, coral atolls, and jungle-bound harbors and airstrips, made the employment of large ground forces impossible and highlighted the importance of air and naval operations. Thus, until 1945, the war in the Pacific progressed by a double series of amphibious operations each of which fitted into a strategic pattern developed in Washington.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1942
To Month/Year
December / 1942
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories ENS Edward R. Sellstrom was awarded the Navy Cross for his "skillful marksmanship and courage" on February 20, 1942, when he intercepted an enemy four-engined bomber, determinedly pursued it through clouds and rain, and assisted in shooting it down despite heavy machine gun and cannon fire; later that day, he intercepted and shot down another aircraft during an attack directed at Lexington by nine enemy bombers.
