Stenseth, Martinus, 1890–1979

Martinus Stenseth left a small farming community in northwestern Minnesota in the 1910s to pursue a career in the military. He found his passion in flying airplanes and proved his mettle in World War I, when he achieved "Flying Ace" status. His long career included many promotions and led to national military recognition.

Martinus Stenseth was born to Karl H. and Karoline Amalie Stenseth, Norwegian immigrant farmers, in Norman County in 1890. His first eight years of school were at District 37 Heiberg School. His first job was in Twin Valley's thriving lumber industry as a log driver, riding logs down the Wild Rice River to Ada. He often fell into the river but soon became adept at staying on the logs.

Childhood illnesses interrupted Stenseth’s schooling. When he became sick, his parents sent him to the McFadden School of Physical Culture in Chicago to build up his strength and improve his health. He returned to Minnesota in 1915 to teach physical education at the Northwest School of Agriculture in Crookston. He joined the National Guard in 1916, and the federal government called his unit into service on the Mexican border later that year.

Following officer training, Stenseth transferred to the Air Corps. He studied at Ohio State and Pittsburgh Universities, and had flight training in France. During the war he became one of two men from Minnesota to earn the title “Flying Ace” for shooting down eight enemy planes. His assignments after World War I took him to Poland, the Philippines, and Latvia.

When World War II began, the army transferred Stenseth, by now elevated to the rank of lieutenant colonel, to Las Vegas. There, he developed the Las Vegas Army Gunnery School and founded and commanded Nellis Air Force Base in 1941. In part for these accomplishments, he received a promotion to full colonel in January 1942.

Following a second promotion, this time to Brigadier General, the following April, Stenseth commanded other gunnery schools. A transfer took him to a base in Iceland in 1945, where he served as commanding general. He took on additional posts in Nebraska and Texas before retiring in June 1950.

During his forty-two years of service, Stenseth earned the Distinguished Service Cross with an oak leaf cluster and the Silver Star. The army dedicated the Operations Building at the Air Warfare Center on Nellis Air Force Base to him in 1980. He is the only soldier from the Twin Valley area to attain such advanced military status.

Stenseth never broke his connection to small town life. He often flew his small plane home to Twin Valley to attend family functions, landing in a pasture near town. He died on June 23, 1979 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was buried in Twin Valley.