Milo Clair Mortensen was born 27 October 1914 in Parowan, Utah, the son of Samuel C. and Sarah Sophronia Hansen Mortensen. He was the last of eleven siblings: Albert, Olive, Sophrona, Samuel, John, Frank, Pearl, Vern, Della, and Clifford.

He attended schools in Parowan and graduated from Parowan High School in 1933.

Milo was the first man from Iron County drafted into the military during the time leading up to the entry of the United States into World War II, being inducted on 19 November 1940. His service was originally expected to last about one year, but after the attack on Pearl Harbor the time was extended indefinitely.

According to the Parowan Times, Milo left for overseas duty 27 December 1942 and served through the New Guinea campaign. He was with the 6th Ranger Battalion which made the first invasion of the Philippines on 17 October 1944, three days prior to the main invasion of Leyte Island.

The Parowan Times reports on Milo’s part in a raid on the POW camp at Cabanatuan which resulted in the liberation of over 500 Allied prisoners of war in late January 1945:

“Sergeant Milo C. Mortensen, son of Mr. and Mrs. S. C. Mortensen of Parowan, took part in the Ranger raid which liberated more than 500 prisoners of war from the Japanese prison camp near Cabanatuan, Luzon Island.

“The rescue trip took three days of tortuous traveling through rice paddies and jungle, swift streams and one wide river. Twenty-five miles of dusty trails and uncounted enemy forces separated the Rangers from their objective. They had to crawl and creep through open country in broad daylight to get into position for the attack.

“Sergeant Mortensen was one of a group of men whose job it was to knock out a [Japanese] pill box in front of the stockade. Leaving the others behind, Sgt. Mortensen and two other men crawled up to the pill box and dropped hand grenades into the miniature fort. Then the men cut openings in the barbed wire for the prisoners and protected the flank while the prisoner column withdrew across the open road.”

For his part in freeing the prisoners, Sergeant Mortensen was decorated with the Bronze Star by General Walter Kruger of the US 6th Army.

Two months after the prison raid, while on another patrol behind enemy lines, Sergeant Mortensen was mortally wounded during a mortar barrage. He died 31 March 1945.

The family received a letter from Lieutenant John F. Murphy giving some detail concerning the death of Sergeant Mortensen: “On the day Milo was wounded we were together on patrol. We had stopped to eat our dinner at what was considered the safest place. We were suddenly caught in a mortar barrage. Milo was hit. A call was sent for the medics immediately. However, some of the men from the patrol didn’t wait for the medics. They gave him every help they could and took him to a hospital. At the hospital every possible thing that could be done was done for Milo. Milo, I don’t believe, suffered very much.”

Captain Harold R. Jacobs wrote to the family: “At the time of his death your son was on an important night reconnaissance mission far behind enemy lines. He was one of the most experienced and valuable leaders in this area. . . . I have known Sergeant Mortensen personally for two and one half years as an outstanding soldier. . . . He has led numerous patrols behind enemy lines and his conduct and devotion to duty has always been an inspiration to his men.”

Sergeant Milo Mortensen was given a full military burial in an American Cemetery located in Rizal Province, Luzon, Philippines. A memorial service was held in his home town of Parowan, Utah on 22 April 1945. His remains were returned to the United States and a graveside service and burial were held at the Parowan cemetery 14 July 1948 under the direction of Parowan Post 20 of the American Legion.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

++Sources:++

Parowan Times, 15 Nov 1940, 2 Mar 1945, 23 Mar 1945, 20 Apr 1945, 27 Apr 1945, 25 May 1945. From https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/

Iron County Record, 1 Mar 1945, 26 Apr 1945, 15 Jul 1948. From https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/

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Milo C Mortensen