Swede

“Sure, I remember Harry Olson!” laughed 98-year-old Walter N. “Swede” Hokanson the first time I called him back in January 2007. Swede called my grandfather a “roughneck, but a gentleman” and allowed that he and Harry “didn’t exactly hide behind the kitchen door” (I swear I could hear his wink over the telephone). The two met working on Grand Coulee Dam and went on to Wake Island, where one of Swede’s proud accomplishments still stands today:...

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