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The following biography was written by Hap Rocketto

Doctor Emmitt O. Swanson, a Minneapolis Dentist, had a long and illustrious career in the shooting sports. He excelled with smallbore and centerfire rifle.

He was a member of the US Dewar Trophy Team in 1929, 31, 35, and 36. He was a member of the 1948 London and 1956 Olympic Teams as well as World Championship and Pan American Games Teams. He was a member of many US international teams and set several word records in both smallbore and centerfire competition.

His longevity as a shooter is readily seen in the fact that he won the Dupont Trophy, at the time a 60 shot three position match fired with the free rifle, in 1934 and later won the Meister Trophy, An aggregate of the 300 Meter Free Rifle, Members' Trophy and Navy Cup Matches that year, at the 1953 and 1957 National Championships. He was part of a word record setting team in 1930 and again in 1952. He earned his Distinguished Marksman Badge in 1931 and Distinguished Pistol Shot 10 years later in 1940.

Swanson's shooting career, like many of his era, was interrupted by World War II. Swanson, a Marine Reservist who had been recruited to be a member of the USMCR Rifle Team, fought at Iwo Jima with the Fifth marines. He retired a colonel.