Budding Authors Trio of Richmond Buddies Grew Up Fast after Pearl Harbor

By George McConnell

A generation ago, the question most frequently asked was, "Where were you on December 7, 1941?"

For Carl Swendsen, and his buddies, Normand Black and Ken Ross, the answer is both simple and complex, and it triggers a host of memories.

"I had gone out to get some milk and saw the headlines in the newspaper that Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was attacked. I bought a copy and hurried home to show everybody. I didn't even know where Pearl Harbor was. Little did I know, I would soon be going there myself," Swendsen said.

Ross also remembers the day that brought the United States into World War II.

"I was working that day at a store on Clement Street and saw the headlines in the newspaper. We were still in high school then, just six months from graduation, and we wanted to immediately go down and enlist," Ross said. "But they told us we had to wait until we graduated."

After finishing high school, all three enlisted - Swendsen in the Navy and Black and Ross in the Army. They were just 18 years old and an adventure of a lifetime was about to begin.

"After enlisting, they put me on a train for Laramie Wyoming for basic training. This was a new experience for me because I had never been outside California in my young life," Black said.

"We were away from home for the first time and we were strictly on our own," said Ross, who served as a paratrooper.

The men's friendship began 75 years ago when they met in first grade at the Star of the Sea Elementary School on Ninth Avenue. On the first day of class, Black looked over and saw that fellow student Ross was upset because he did not have a pencil. He immediately broke his in half to share, and they have been good friends ever since.

"To me, a friend is someone that is your friend during both good times and bad; someone who will be there for you," Ross said.

"We all lived within a few blocks of each other and used to hang out together, playing ball, Cowboys and Indians, and going to shows. We sang in a group, calling ourselves the 'Clement Street Troubadours,' singing on street corners and for girls we knew," he said.

"It was the Depression and nobody had any money. We learned to make our own fun. I always wanted a bike, but I never got one. We had a saying back then: 'Use it up, wear it out, make it do, and do without,'" Swendsen said.

"A friend is someone you like and trust and has qualities that you admire. I admired Ken because he was very smart, and Normand was very brave and daring. Both were very honest and would never do anything that was dishonest," he said.

When the war ended, all three returned home to the Richmond District to complete their education, get married and start businesses. They resumed their friendships as well. With so many vivid memories lingering from the war years, they decided in 2001 to write a book recounting their experiences. Late last year,

"We Didn't Know We Were Heroes" was released. It narrates the gritty, humorous and poignant story of their years in the service - the good times and the monotony; the horror of battle and getting wounded; the long and stressful days at sea; and the pain of losing friends along the way.

"The title came about by accident. Somebody said, maybe we were heroes and didn't know it. We thought we were three average guys just doing our part like everybody else. We didn't think of ourselves as heroes," Swendsen said.

"We grew up fast in the service, but our youth had been stolen away. We came out much older and wiser. Military life is very hum-drum; people getting killed, the destruction and the protocol can be demeaning. I finally made it out. It was an experience I will never forget, but I most surely would not want to do it again," Ross said.

"The Navy taught me responsibility and how to work with others, but I also saw a lot of meanness and arrogance from the officers. I decided I didn't want to make a career out of it," Swendsen said.

"I hate war. I feel it is the worst catastrophe that can befall us. War is not glorious, thrilling or even exciting. War is simply a terrible, horrible waste," said Ross.

Swendsen agreed.

"War is a nasty business, as young men who answer the call to arms soon find out," he said.

"We Didn't Know We Were Heroes" is available at local bookstores, including Green Apple Books on Clement Street.