Head shot of veteran Jessica Garza

Wisconsin Women in Combat: Garza Recounts Being Under Fire at FOB Masum Ghar

In April 2011, Jessica Garza deployed to Afghanistan with the brigade S-1 section, 1-25th Striker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT). Initially, the command assigned Garza and her unit to Forward Operating Base (FOB) Lagman. FOB Lagman was a former forward operating base in Qalati Ghilji, Zabul Province, Afghanistan. While there, she

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Photo of Blair Dunday

Dunday Recalls Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT)

In March 2005, Blair Dunday enlisted under the Army's Delayed Entry Program (DEP), knowing that the Army would train her as an 89B (ammunition specialist). She delayed entry until July 2005 as she cared for her younger siblings and began her six-year enlistment. Dunday attended basic training at Fort Leonard

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Photo of Andree L. Griffin

Andreé L. Griffin: Bagram and Back

For Women’s History Month, we feature Andreé L. Griffin, who served in the United States Army Reserves from March 2010 to March 2018 and grew up in Slinger, Wisconsin. She describes her childhood as a "typical country" and included learning to ride and care for horses, a passion she continued

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Two Generations of Wisconsin Veterans

At the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, we document, preserve, and make available the stories of Wisconsin veterans and their families. As a museum, we’ve collected several stories from multi-generational Wisconsin families. This month we feature a military family from Couderay, Wisconsin, Mary Slisz-Chucka and her son Todd Haskell. Mary Slisz-Chucka grew

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Wisconsin Veterans and September 11, 2001

  It has been sixteen years since the events of September 11, 2001. That fateful day prompted the nation into action, and within two years the United States was involved in two conflicts in the Middle East, participating in what has been termed “the Global War on Terrorism.” With the

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Making History by Guest Author SSG Sonia Buchanan

My decision to join the military came a little later in life than most. The military has always played a major role in my life. My father served in the Navy for 27 years. In fact, out of nine children, seven of us joined a branch of service or married

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