Duane Larson was born at Regent, North Dakota in 1916, and graduated from Regent High School. In 1941, Larson joined the US Army Air Corp and was initially assigned duty as a truck driver. After achieving high test scores, he moved into flight school, getting his wings at a base in Alabama and becoming a pilot with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.
During World War II he was based in England, flying the P-51 Mustang fighter as he escorted bombers over occupied Europe. He flew 68 combat missions. His nickname, “SWEDE,” also became the name of his plane, and it was painted on the side of his P-51.
Larson returned home as a decorated Veteran with 6 air medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross. One of his most memorable missions was guiding a damaged B-24 back to England, saving the crew. He mustered out of the service in late 1945, but remained in the Air Force Reserve.
Between 1947 and 1950 Duane introduced aerial crop dusting in North Dakota and ran the airport in Mott. He also barnstormed, flying at County Fairs and air shows, and treating the public to plane rides.
In 1951, Larson joined the North Dakota Air National Guard and served with the 178th fighter Interceptor Squadron, flying the P-51. While serving in the Air Guard, Duane flew many other aircraft including, bombers, transports, and trainers.
The 178th transitioned into the jet age and Duane started flying the F-96 Starfire and then the F-89 Scorpion. Larson was the 178th Squadron Commander when in 1963, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the unit was temporarily activated.
Because of Larson’s fatherly instincts concerning his much younger pilots, they hung the nickname Pappy on him. The Squadron called themselves the Happy Hooligans after a comic strip popular in the ‘20s and ‘30s. As Squadron commander, Duane Larson and his Squadron became, “Pappy and his Happy Hooligans.”
In the early 1960s the Squadron was looking for an official motto to set them apart from other units. Happy Hooligans was the obvious choice, and the name was painted on all the aircraft.
Larson retired from the Air Guard in 1969 at the rank of Brigadier General. He passed away on this date in 2005.
Dakota Datebook by Scott Nelson
Sources:
- Duane Larson ND Aviation Hall of Fame 1997
- Duane Larson obituary
- Youtube - WWII Vets Oral History, Brig. General Duane “Pappy” Larson interview
- Happy Hooligans / Fargo History, NDSU Libraries
