Ken Dahlberg, WWII ace and Watergate figure, dies at 94

From Nashua Telegraph: Ken Dahlberg, WWII ace and Watergate figure, dies at 94
MINNEAPOLIS – Kenneth Dahlberg, a minor figure but a crucial linchpin in the Watergate scandal that brought down the Nixon presidency, has died.

Dahlberg, 94, of Deephaven, Minn., also was a decorated World War II fighter pilot who spearheaded numerous well-known business ventures. He died Tuesday and will be eulogized next week in Edina, Minn., with burial at Arlington National Cemetery.

As the Midwest finance chairman of President Richard Nixon’s 1972 re-election campaign, Dahlberg was pulled into the Watergate scandal even though he didn’t engage in any wrongdoing. He became linked to the scandal after a check he delivered to the Nixon campaign turned up in a Watergate burglar’s bank account, tying Nixon to the break-in.

The contribution, which was legal, had come from Dwayne Andreas, a native of Worthington, Minn., and former chairman of Archer-Daniels-Midland.

Dahlberg was cleared by a grand jury of any wrongdoing, but his role in Watergate was parlayed into a moment of high drama for the movie that documented the scandal, “All the President’s Men.”

One scene shows Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward phoning Dahlberg to ask about the check, eliciting a tense standoff, though no allegations are made against Dahlberg.

At one point, as the White House tapes later revealed, White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman mentioned Dahlberg’s role to Nixon, to which the president responded, “Who the hell is Ken Dahlberg?”

In an obituary placed Wednesday in the Star Tribune on behalf of the family, it notes Dahlberg’s extensive accomplishments as a fighter pilot, prisoner of war, founder of Miracle Ear Hearing Aid. Co., his business association with Buffalo Wild Wings and other enterprises, and having “befriended presidents and generals.”

Absent was any mention of Dahlberg’s connection to Nixon and the Watergate affair.

Warren Mack, a longtime friend of Dahlberg who wrote his biography, “One Step Forward: The Life of Ken Dahlberg,” said that he left out any reference to Watergate “because it’s still uncomfortable for Betty Jayne (Dahlberg’s wife). There was always this implication that he did something wrong.”

Mack added that Dahlberg himself lamented that Watergate overshadowed his accomplishments in battle and in business.

“He was just the victim of circumstance,” Mack said.

Dahlberg’s political activities grew out of a wartime friendship with Barry Goldwater. Dahlberg was a deputy chairman of fundraising for the Arizona Republican’s presidential campaign in 1964.

He later was campaign chairman for Clark MacGregor’s unsuccessful run for a U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota in 1970 against Hubert Humphrey. MacGregor went on to head Nixon’s Campaign to Re-elect the President.

Dahlberg grew up on a 120-acre farm near Wilson, Wis. He graduated from St. Paul Harding High School in 1935.

On June 2, 1944, four days before D-Day, draftee Dahlberg arrived in England to join the 354th Fighter Group flying P-51 Mustangs to support the invasion.

He was shot down three times behind enemy lines, escaped twice and sat out the last few months of the war as a POW in Stalag 7-A near Munich.

Inducted into both the Minnesota and Arizona Aviation Halls of Fame, he continued flying into his 90s.

Along with his wife of 64 years, Dahlberg’s survivors include daughters Nancy Dahlberg and Dede Disbrow; son K. Jeffrey Dahlberg; brother Arnold Dahlberg; and sisters Marcella Savage and Harriet Dolny.

A memorial service is scheduled for Oct. 12 at Colonial Church of Edina, Minn.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Minnesota Military Appreciation Fund or the Colonial Church of Edina.