Swerre E. Eliassen, 91 DOVER - Swerre E. Eliassen, 91, passed away peacefully Wednesday, April 21, 2010, in the Delaware Veterans Home, Milford. He was born in Valnesfjord, Norway, in 1918 and as a child immigrated through Ellis Island to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in October 1941, completing his training as a bomber pilot in 1943. A member of the 8th Air Force's 389th Heavy Bomb Group stationed at Hethel, England, he flew his B-24D Liberator named "Heaven Can Wait" on 30 perilous, but successful missions into Western Europe and Scandinavia before D-Day during the grim times of 1943 and 1944. He was known by fellow flyers as "Eli." Following duty with the 8th Air Force, Eliassen trained as a B-29 Superfortress pilot and then joined the U.S. Air Transport Command in Dallas where he ferried military aircraft between points in Western Europe, the U.S., and Russia. Beginning in 1946 Maj. Eliassen was military air traffic officer at Tokyo; Great Falls, MT; and Casablanca, finally settling at Dover AFB in July 1956. He returned to the cockpit as a pilot in the 1607th Air Transport Wing, and from 1961 to 1964 flew C-124 Globemaster and C-133 Cargomaster aircraft in Cold War airlift operations code-named "Big Slam," "Long Thrust," "Stair Stop," plus two airlifts to the African nation of Congo. The Congo operation stands as one of the Air Force's finest peacetime accomplishments.Retiring from the Air Force in November 1963, Maj. Eliassen had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. He had flown over one million miles in his military career. Mr. Eliassen remained at Dover AFB as a civilian employee in air traffic operations, retiring in 1984. He was a life member of the Military Officers Association of America and belonged to the Order of Daedalians. He enjoyed reading, gardening and sporting events and became a skilled carpenter after retiring from the Air Force. A Camden and Dover resident since 1956, Maj. Eliassen is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Marion; children, Patricia Wegner and her husband Dana of Fort Belvoir, Va., Ann Shahan and Ed Dulin of Dover, and Craig Eliassen and his wife Judy of Dover. He is also survived by grandchildren, Courtney Shahan of Alexandria, Va., Chad Shahan of Washington, D.C., Katherine Eliassen, Christine Eliassen, and Caroline Eliassen, all of Dover. Service will be 7 p.m., Sunday, April 2,5 at the Pippin Funeral Home, 119 W. Camden-Wyoming Ave., Wyoming, where friends may gather one hour earlier. Burial will be private for family at the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Millsboro. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions in his memory to the Delaware Veterans Home, 100 Patriots Way, Milford, DE 19963. Letters of condolences can be sent via www.pippinfuneralhome.com.