Background
Svendsen was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1928.
Svendsen was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1928.
He attended Florida State University.
Svendsen joined the Air Force in 1948. During the Korean War he was stationed at Johnson Air Base and Taegu Air Base. Following the war he was stationed an Truax Field.
Later he served in the Vietnam War.
In 1966 he was stationed at The Pentagon and later served in the Office of the United States Secretary of the Air Force as a liaison for the United States House of Representatives. From 1974 to 1975 he was in command of the 29th Flying Training Wing.
Svendsen was appointed Defense Attaché to Egypt in 1975. In 1977 he was given command of the Air Force Manpower and Personnel Center and was stationed at Randolph Air Force Base.
His retirement was effective as of June 1, 1980.