Salhus, Knut

Description

Knut Salhus was born on October 23, 1912, in Avaldsnes, Rogaland, Norway, to Inger B. and Lars M. Knutsen Salhus. He moved to Rye at age 16 and was employed as launch operator at the American Yacht Club and lived at the Wainwright House on Stuyvesant Ave..

THREE small, Rye boys, who started out from Pine Island peninsula off Rye in their rowboat about 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon to seek adventure, found more excitement than they had bargained for when they lost their oars in the choppy Sound and the wind carried their open craft rapidly away from shore. Wildly waving sweaters and shouting, Richard Owens, 10; his brother, Russell, 11, both of 83 Overlook Avenue, and Robert Treat, 12, of Oakland Beach Avenue, finally attracted the attention Pine Island residents, who notified police. By the time Sergeant Robert – Warren arrived, the lads were a mile offshore and fast disappearing in the distance. Warren called Lieut. Howard Searles on desk duty at headquarters over the police radio.

Lieut. Searles telephone the American Yacht Club at Milton Point, and Knut Salhus put out in the club power boat to effect the rescue. The three youngsters, wet and shivering, warmed themselves at the clubhouse until their families arrived.
Daily Item – May 16, 1938

Knut married Marcella Syra Dempsey on August 21, 1941, in Rye, New York. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Dempsey, of 10 Park Lane, Rye. The ceremony was performed Thursday afternoon in the rectory of the Church of the Resurrection, with the Rev. James F. Tully, an assistant pastor, officiating. The couple would move to New Bedford MA and would have five children during their marriage.

Knut enlisted October 20, 1943 and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. His service number was 8798012 (See Muster Rolls). Knut was stationed at the Navy Pacific Base on Kwajalein Island in the Marshall Islands.

The Navy established a major base, Naval Base Kwajalein, on Kwajalein Atoll after capturing it from the Japanese in the Battle of Kwajalein (Jan-Feb 1944), turning it into a critical logistics, repair, and staging hub for the island-hopping campaign, featuring airfields, seaports, and repair depots supporting Pacific operations against Japan.

Knut served three years during World War II and was honorably discharged November 18, 1945

Since moving from Rye, he had been a commercial fisherman out of New Bedford. He was a member of the Sons of Norway in Valhalla; and was parishioner of Lutheran Church New Bedford.

Knut Salhus, 57, of New Bedford, Mass., died November 16, 1970 in Union Hospital there after a long illness. He was pre-deceased by his wife who died July 21, 1961.

At the time of his death, he was survived by four children Stephen K. Salhus of White Plains Mary U. Salhus and Knut J. Salhus of 10 Park Lane, Rye; and Marcella D. Salhus of New Bedford, Ma.