John Bokelund Link to this section
John Edward "Eddie" Bokelund was a member of the Spring Class of 1942, one of Abraham Lincoln High School's pioneer classes.
John was born April 15, 1924 in Alameda County, California, to John E. and Marie (Sund) Bokelund. His father was born in Sweden on December 17, 1895, and died on June 22, 1963, in San Francisco. His mother, Marie was born on July 10, 1889, in Sweden and died on June 2, 1975, in Contra Costa County, California.
He graduated in the Second Commencement Class on June 17, 1942.
Eddie had a brother, Raymond Alfred who was born on May 3, 1916, in San Francisco and passed away on November 27, 1994, in San Francisco. Ray married Elvera Augusta Johnson, who was born in San Francisco on December 20, 1917. Ray and Elvera had two children born in San Francisco: Bette Jean and Marlene Ann. Bette Jean and Marlene Ann both graduated from Lincoln. Bette Jean graduated in Spring 1961, while Marlene Ann graduated in Spring 1964.
Bette Jean married Bob Lapoca, and two children were born to this marriage in Venice, California: Michelle Marie and Melanie.
Marlene Ann married Howard Reinholdt Bergmark, and they had three children born in San Francisco: Gwen Ann, Heidi A., and Bret Reinholdt.
Eddie entered the military service after graduation as an aviation cadet in the U. S. Army Air Corps. Upon completion of flight training, he he was awarded the rank of flight officer and subsequently assigned to the China, India Burma theater of Operations, where he died on June 14, 1945.
Eddie listed on the World War II Honor List of Dead & Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel from California, as being a non-battle casualty.
He was interred in a military cemetery in India. In 1948, his remains were disinterred and returned to the United States from the Army Air Force Facility at Barrakpore, India (north of Calcutta) and reinterred at the Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, San Mateo County, California, in Section C, Grave #413.
This page was last updated on June 13, 2019