Sergeant Beauford T. Anderson
Born July 6, 1922, in Eagle, Wisconsin, Beauford T. Anderson had turned 19 years old by the time the U.S. entered the Second World War. He enlisted in the United States Army on October 8, 1942 and entered service with the newly activated 96th Infantry Division—one of the “draftee divisions”
Part II: Okinawa: The Battle Builds
In 1945, 75 years ago, World War II in the Pacific ended with the Battle of Okinawa and the atomic bombing of Japan. These important events, in which Wisconsin service members did their full duty, still impact the world today. From April until August 2020, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum staff
Elizabeth O’Hara Baehr
Serving Those Who Served: Immense Personal Satisfaction and Incredible Hardship Guest Author, Assistant Gift Shop Manager, Michael Olson France, July 1944−German buzz bombs fly overhead and the ambulances rush in their first patients. Many are in need of immediate surgery and many of them are German soldiers. “I thought
Part I: Okinawa: Genesis of a Battle
In 1945, 75 years ago, World War II in the Pacific ended with the Battle of Okinawa and the atomic bombing of Japan. These important events, in which Wisconsin service members did their full duty, still impact the world today. From April until August 2020, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum staff
“These Numbers All Mean Something”
By Russell Horton, Reference & Outreach Archivist “I’ve got documents that I brought out of Korea… just pieces of paper with numbers on them. They are very old. These numbers all mean something.”
Rearguard at Gettysburg
By Kevin Hampton, Curator of History On the afternoon of July 1, 1863, the 7th Wisconsin played a pivotal role as the rear guard of the Union Army during the retreat through the town of Gettysburg. Though the regiment held their position as long as possible along a rail fence
Robert C. McCoy at the Battle of Buna
By Kevin Hampton, Curator of History Robert C. McCoy of Sparta, Wisconsin came from a long lineage of military service. Grandson of Captain Bruce E. McCoy and son of Major General Robert B. McCoy (both namesakes of Wisconsin’s Fort McCoy), Robert C. grew up with a strong sense of duty
A Son’s Service
More than 122,000 Wisconsin men and women served in the military during World War I, in all branches of service and in hundreds of different units. However, the largest concentration of Wisconsinites served in the 32nd Division, which consisted of the Wisconsin and Michigan National Guards. Much like today, individual
A Shared Experience
By: Andrea Hoffman, Collections Manager While there are numerous reasons Wisconsin residents have joined the military over the last 150 years—each generation met with unique historical events and changing social expectations—serving one’s country has also been a shared experience within families. Whether a parent and child, siblings, or spouses, serving