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
The Life-Saving Gift to Majil Steiner
By Andrea Hoffman, Collections Manager On November 21, 1944, the B-29 “Snafuperbomber” with the 40th Bomb Group was attacked over Japan while approaching its target city of Omura. While badly damaged, the crewmembers managed to keep the B-29 airborne back across the China Sea. But when the aircraft’s usable fuel
Veteran Sweethearts~Rose Jrolf and Fred Ray
Part of the Rose Ray WVM Collection This formal portrait is of Rose Jrolf and Fred Ray on their wedding day in 1945. Rose is wearing a large lily and ribbon corsage and Fred is wearing a carnation boutineer. Rose enlisted in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in 1943 and
If Dreams Come True…~The Wanserski Family
Part of the George Wanserski WVM Collection by Laura Farley This is a love story about Wisconsin natives George Wanserski and Florence Lange that spans nearly five years of separation and struggle to raise their family. Married July 18, 1934, the Wanserskis set up home in the Milwaukee area and
Harold Schmitz
By Yvette Pino, Traveling Art Exhibit Coordinator In June 1942, Milwaukee artist Harold F. Schmitz was drafted into the U.S. Army and served with the 955th Topographic Engineer Company. At the time of his conscription, he was working in the art department of Hammersmith-Kortemeyer (H & K) Publishing. The company,
Military Appreciation Month by Ellen Brooks
“It takes about eight or ten people behind the lines to support one person in the front lines.” (Thomas Diener, Oral History Interview, 2005) Thomas Diener never saw combat while serving during World War II with the Army Air Corps, but he was one of the essential troops supporting those
In Recognition of Aviation Month – The Story of Robert Balliet
By Jeff Javid, Wisconsin Veterans Museum Archives Assistant Robert Balliet of Appleton, Wisconsin served with the 776th Squadron, 464th Bomb Group, Fifteenth Air Force, United States Army Air Force in the European theatre during World War II. An employee of Wisconsin Bell Telephone Company, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in
Pearl Harbor Remembered through Oral Histories
In this 14 minute clip, Thomas Butler, a quartermaster in the Navy, recounts his experience aboard the USS Tennessee on December 7, 1941. The Wisconsin Veterans Museum Oral History Collection contains more than 15 interviews with veterans who were stationed at Pearl Harbor on that fateful day. It also includes
William Stark and the Church Pennant
While serving aboard a landing craft (USS LCI (L)-23) in the Solomon Islands during World War II, William Stark of Waukesha was saved by what he must have believed was partly “divine intervention.” In 1943, when his landing craft beached to unload, Motor Machinist’s Mate Second Class William Stark was