[3] Swenholt, a forward on the basketball team, was elected captain for the 1907–1908 season of the Badger squad.
He briefly visited his hometown and then left for Morgantown, West Virginia for service at the state university.
He would occasionally return to his home in Madison, Wisconsin to visit his parents and sister...[6][7] He was assigned in 1922 to Camp Humphreys, Gary, Indiana, with the engineers in the regular army.
There was a brief period in 1932 where the War Department considered retiring Colonel Swenholt (with many other officers) during a time when there was a military downsizing.
In 1935 he was ordered back to Dupont, Delaware, and to Oakland, California, where he was assigned to the Topographic Engineers at Fort Stevens, Oregon,[10] to map various areas in three states along the Pacific Coast.
One of their assignments was to stabilize the banks of the Mississippi by sinking pilings along the northern edge of Omaha in an effort to change the channel.
[13] In early 1941 when the Army foresaw the need to begin armament, Major Swenholt's command was assigned the task of relocating roads, railroads and sewer lines in preparation for building the plant which would make the Martin B-26 Bomber.
Colonel Helmer Swenholt commanded the 332nd Engineer General Service Regiment until 28 November 1945 when he retired from the Army.