Ejnar “Chris” Christiansen

Captain Ejnar G. “Chris” Christiansen, U.S. Merchant Marine, Retired, a proud veteran of World War Two, was born on September 2, 1922, in Vordingborg, Denmark and died in Abita Springs on December 4, 2023, at the age of 101. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Noelie Rome Christiansen, his parents, Valdemar and Anna Hansen Christiansen, his siblings Sigfred, Edith, Hjalmar, Helge, Gunner, Ruth, Elvira, Inger, and Egon, all of Denmark, as well as his U.S. relatives: his daughter-in-law, Lynn J. Christiansen (Alan, Sr.) and his sisters-in-law, Ruth Rome Hahnebohm (Septime, late), and Josephine Joyce Rome Vaale (Ernest, late).

He was the devoted father of P amela C. Jones (Alvin), Wallace C. Christiansen, Alan G. Christiansen, Sr. (Lynn, late), and Alice C. French (Charles), the grandfather of Alvin E. Jones, Jr. (Wendy), Janice J. Jones, Alan G. Christiansen, Jr., Ananda French Karakaya, Lila S. French, and William Charles French, and the great grandfather of Cody-Alan G. Christiansen, Caryn Marie Christiansen, Abigail Noelie Jones, Hayden Michael Ellington, and Mira Helena Karakaya. In Denmark, he is survived by his sister, Eva C. Winther.

When he was sixteen, he became Cadet Christiansen in the Royal Danish Navy and embarked on a rigorous eight-month training mission which included visits to several overseas and U.S. ports. But while his ship was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Germany invaded several countries, including his native Denmark, and World War Two began. As a result, his voyage home to Denmark was cancelled, and he remained in the Gulf Coast of the U.S., eventually settling in New Orleans, where he found work on various ships.

In 1942, a few months after the U.S. declared war on Japan and Germany, a shortage of U. S. seamen developed, and the U.S. allowed foreign seamen to volunteer for wartime duty on U.S. Merchant Marine ships. Young Danish Seaman Christiansen accepted that challenge, and in August 1942, he joined the longest battle of WWII, “The Battle of the Atlantic.” Sometimes, he sailed continuously-- during a twenty-month period between September 1943 and May 1945, he sailed without any break in service--when his ship returned to port, he boarded another ship which rejoined the Battle.

After the War, he lived in New Orleans, rejoining his seagoing career and becoming a naturalized U.S. Citizen. But his native country did not forget him: in recognition of his WWII service, Denmark awarded him a lifetime quarterly honorarium.

In 1952 he settled in Chalmette, and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he relocated to Abita Springs.

He wrote many accounts about his childhood in Denmark, WWII, and his seagoing career with Denmark’s J. Lauritzen Company, and New Orleans’ United Fruit Company, Gulf & South American Steamship Co., and Lykes Lines, during which he rose from deck-boy to ship’s officer, culminating in his elevation to Captain of the 471 ft. ocean-going “Gulf Farmer.”

For posterity, in 2017 his WWII experiences were videotaped by the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.

In 2020, Congress passed the “Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act” to recognize U.S. Merchant Mariners for their courage and contributions during the war, and in 2023, along with other U.S. Merchant Marine medals and decorations, Capt. Christiansen was awarded a bronze replica of the Congressional Gold Medal.

Family and friends are invited to attend a funeral service at St. Bernard Memorial Funeral Home, 701 W. Virtue St., Chalmette, La., on Wednesday, December 13, 2023. Visitation will be from 9 to 11 am, and interment will follow at St. Bernard Memorial Gardens.