The son of a country doctor, Balchen was born at the farm Myren in Tveit, just outside of Kristiansand, Norway. After having finished Norwegian middle school in 1916, he attended a Forestry School from 1917–1918, he enrolled in the French Foreign Legion with his unit assigned to the Verdun front in World War I, In 1918, before seeing action, Balchen was called back to Norway, transferring to the Norwegian Army, and was sent to an artillery school, where he graduated shortly after.
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| - The son of a country doctor, Balchen was born at the farm Myren in Tveit, just outside of Kristiansand, Norway. After having finished Norwegian middle school in 1916, he attended a Forestry School from 1917–1918, he enrolled in the French Foreign Legion with his unit assigned to the Verdun front in World War I, In 1918, before seeing action, Balchen was called back to Norway, transferring to the Norwegian Army, and was sent to an artillery school, where he graduated shortly after.
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personquoted
| - Bernt Balchen, found on his memorial stone
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death place
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Spouse
| - Emmy Alvhilde , Inger , and then Audrey
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| - Today goes fast and tomorrow is almost here. Maybe I have helped a little in the change. So I go on to the next adventure looking to the future but always remembering my teammates and the lonely places I have seen that no other man saw before.
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Birth Place
| - Tveit, Kristiansand, Norway
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death date
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Description
| - "Longines Chronoscope with Bernt Balkin
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Occupation
| - Aviator, military leader, author and polar explorer
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abstract
| - The son of a country doctor, Balchen was born at the farm Myren in Tveit, just outside of Kristiansand, Norway. After having finished Norwegian middle school in 1916, he attended a Forestry School from 1917–1918, he enrolled in the French Foreign Legion with his unit assigned to the Verdun front in World War I, In 1918, before seeing action, Balchen was called back to Norway, transferring to the Norwegian Army, and was sent to an artillery school, where he graduated shortly after. Under an assumed name, Balchen fought as a cavalryman with the White Guards in the Finnish Civil War that followed the end of major hostilities. During a cavalry charge, his horse was shot from under him and he was left for dead on the battlefield. Receiving serious wounds that necessitated a lengthy convalescence, Balchen turned to an early interest in athletics and trained strenuously as a boxer to represent Norway in the 1920 Olympics. Besides being a championship boxer, he was also an expert marksman and an accomplished skier. Balchen was very knowledgeable about wilderness and northern survival, skills that he would later exploit. While waiting for his acceptance as an Olympian, Balchen received word that he also qualified for flight training, resulting in his decision to become a pilot in the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service in 1921.
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