Lars Clifford Oftedahl was born November 23, 1910 in Clearwater County to parents Lars and Carrie Johnson Oftedahl. Lars Sr. was born in Stavanger, Norway and came to the U.S. in 1881 when he was 20 years old. He came to Bagley in 1901 and took a homestead on a farm in Nora Township. In 1904 he married Carrie Johnson, a daughter of Swedish immigrants who had also taken a homestead in the vicinity. Young Lars had two brothers and three sisters:  Harold, Albert, Helen, Elsie and Ruth.

The Oftedahl children attended Carlson District 9 Country School in Nora Township.  Lars attended school through the 7^th grade. The boys helped out on the farm and took it over when their father became aged.  Carrie passed away in March of 1940 of complications of the flu.

Lars registered for the draft on October 16, 1940 when he was 29 years old. He was 5’10” tall, 185 pounds, with blue eyes and blond hair.  

Lars enlisted in the Army on September 30, 1942. He entered the service at Fort Snelling, Minnesota and was sent to Camp Claiborne in central Louisiana. Over half a million men went through Camp Claiborne from 1939 to 1946, mainly for basic training and artillery practice.

Lars’ specialty became rifle sharpshooter and he was attached to Company A, 10^th Infantry. He spent three years in northern France, the Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe.

Tech 5 Oftedahl was separated from the Army on October 1, 1945 at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. He married Mary Ann Vraa and they had one son, Blayne Oftedahl of Bagley. Mary Ann died in 1988 and Lars died in August of 1989. His ashes were placed under his favorite tree on his farm south of Bagley.

Lars’s medals included a Purple Heart, American Defense Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 Bronze Stars, WWII Victory Medal, Sharpshooter Badge with Rifle Bar, WWII Honorable Service Lapel Button, Good Conduct Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge. His medals were donated to the Clearwater County Historical Society by his son.

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