Father & Daughter Forstroms

They served as support personnel for the fighting troops

by Joelle Steele

Many military personnel have seen battle, while others have quietly served behind the front lines, a support system for the fighting troops. That was the case with U.S. Army Corporal Carl Adrian Forstrom and his daughter, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Donna Mae Forstrom. [Donna Mae wrote a wonderful first-hand account of her life, which I included in An Illustrated History of the Steele, Furu, and Forstrom Families in Finland and America]

Carl Adrian Forstrom was born June 7, 1893 in Grand Rapids, Michigan to Anders Carlsson Forsbacka Forstrom (01/22/1860-1935) and Elizabeth “Lise” Kallrose (Kallström, Chelstrom) (07/03/1861-?) of Terjärv, Finland. Adrian had a brother, Anders Alfred “Al” Forstrom (04/29/1887-12/06/1967).

Anders and Elizabeth, came to White Cloud, Michigan in the mid-1880s where his brothers Matt and Karl had settled with sisters Johanna Alina and Hulda Marie. When Karl died in 1990, everyone – except Anders – moved to Rochester, Washington where Matt had settled a few years earlier. Anders, a tailor and farmer, had met his future wife while on a visit to Grand Rapids, and they married there in 1885 and had two sons, Adrian and Al.

Adrian graduated from 8th grade and went to work for a florist that had greenhouses and a retail shop where he became a florist. But in 1917 at age 24, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in France during World War I, first as a private and later as a corporal of Troop L, 2nd Cavalry. The 2nd Cavalry soldiers arrived in France in April 2018. They were trained to fight, but were assigned as military police and horse/mule caretakers (farriers and stable hands).

While in France, their barracks was bombed and Adrian broke his ankle while being evacuated from a second-floor window. In May 1919, he ended up in a hospital for three months in Detroit. Afterwards, he returned to Grand Rapids, and lived with his mother for a time.

In 1929, Adrian started his own florist business and became a member of the Disabled American Veterans. After he sold his florist shop in 1955, he worked as an orderly at Butterworth Hospital. He suffered a stroke in 1960, and died on December 19, 1962.

Adrian was married when he was very young, but had no children. When he entered the military, his wife found someone else and they divorced. Then, in 1925, he drove his mother 215 miles to Sigel, Michigan, to visit a friend. There he met Huldah Elvira Hendrickson (03/11/1901-09/25/1992). They married on October 21, 1929 and had one child, Donna Mae Forstrom.

Donna Mae was born January 5, 1934 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She grew up near her Uncle Al and Aunt Frieda (who had no children), and her grandparents, Anders and Lise Forstrom. Her memories of her childhood were happy ones that included collecting milkweed pods for use in life vests during World War II, and picking cherries that were transported to Gerber Baby Food. She worked at her father’s flower shop on holidays and also mowed the entire house yard, farm, and greenhouse. In the winter, she shoveled snow, and when they had an ice storm, she skated to school. When she was a little older, her father taught her how to make corsages.

In her senior year of high school, Donna worked half-days at an OB-Gyn doctor’s office doing whatever needed to be done. In 1956, she became a licensed registered nurse, and in 1957 graduated with a BS in Nursing. She worked at a variety of hospitals, including Children’s Orthopedic in Seattle. But she longed to travel and enlisted in the US Air Force as a 1st Lieutenant in 1962. She was posted to Loring AFB east of Caribou, Maine, where she worked in the OB Ward. She enjoyed Maine and liked fishing and canoeing.

After Maine, she spent three years at Torrejon AFB near Madrid, Spain, where she worked in a medical surgical unit and a pediatric clinic. While there, she visited England, Norway, and Sweden, and continued to travel after returning to the United States, visiting Ireland and Denmark, among other places.

On August 17, 1966, Donna was promoted to Captain, and in July of 1968, she graduated as a flight-nurse from the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine. She was posted for flight duty with the 11th Aeromed Airlift Squadron out of Scott AFB in Illinois. It was the Vietnam War era, and she assisted in the transportation of patients from one facility to another to get them closer to their homes.

Donna left active duty on August 31, 1973 and went into the USAF Reserves, joining a unit in Oklahoma City, about 145 miles away. She moved to Bushland, Texas, not far from Amarillo, with her friend Colonel Helen Norris, a retired flight nurse. Donna went back to school and studied a variety of courses, including painting and wood carving. Then she accepted a position in epidemiology and infection control at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Oklahoma City. She got to take courses at the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, and after several years at St. Anthony’s, she oversaw the infectious diseases unit at the VA hospital, where she developed a reputation for running a very tight ship.

Several years later, Donna retired from the USAF Reserves as a Lieutenant Colonel. During her career, she was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal, Special Operations Group 2, Headquarters 16th Air Force; Air Force Outstanding Unit Award; National Defense Service Medal; Air Force Longevity Service Award with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster; and the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters.

In 2009, Donna said that she enjoyed working in the yard, working with wood – wood carving and building things. She also said she enjoyed drawing, painting in watercolors, and music –  singing and playing a little guitar, banjo, and piano.

Donna passed away on October 17, 1921. According to the person who wrote her obituary, “After her retirement, Donna enjoyed spending her days relaxing with Helen [who died in 2018], spoiling their dogs, woodworking, and painting. She had an amazing gift of capturing the beauty she saw around her in wood carvings and paintings. She was loyal to those she called a friend and will always be known for her kind and giving heart.”

Back in the 1950s, Donna had purchased her first Basenji dog in Duluth, Minnesota, and she always enjoyed showing her registered Basenjis. In her obituary, a friend wrote that Donna “never lost her love of dogs and will always be remembered as the lady who could find beauty even in the ugliest mutt she rescued.”