Above and Beyond the Call of Duty by Emily Irwin

On July 11, 1944, Gerald L. Endl made the ultimate sacrifice while in service to his country. “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty,” Endl was awarded the Medal of Honor, America’s highest military honor. Today, 70 years later, we recognize

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A Fateful Day

By Andrea Hoffman, Collections Manager The Wisconsin Veterans Museum is rich with stories of World War II veterans who eagerly and patriotically answered the call to service following the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Fewer are the accounts of Wisconsin service members who had already enlisted prior to

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Remembering Pearl Harbor The Story of Herbert “Herb” Buehl

By Jenna Madsen, Wisconsin Veterans Museum Assistant Curator Herbert “Herb” Buehl from Monroe, Wisconsin was in the Navy aboard the USS Arizona when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Herb served as an electrician in power distribution on the Arizona. His post was at the bottom of the center of the ship

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The Army Olympian: Carleton L. Brosius

By Russ Horton, Reference Archivist Wisconsin has a long and proud Olympic tradition—one that is often associated with the Winter Games. Athletes from the Badger State like Bonnie Blair, Eric Heiden, Dan Jansen, Mark Johnson, and others gained fame in speed skating and ice hockey. But ninety-six years ago, four

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A Story of a World War II Fighter Pilot Fritz Emil Wolf

By RICHARD WOLF, Guest Columnist, THE BUGLE Winter 2011 Cover Story (a Quarterly Publication of the WVM). With the Flying Tigers Fritz E. Wolf was born in Shawano, Wisconsin on February 8, 1916. He attended Shawano High School where he excelled in leadership, character and athletics, graduating in 1933. His athletic prowess

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Wisconsin Veterans Museum conducted its 2,000th interview for its Oral History Program

On July 10, 2015 the Wisconsin Veterans Museum conducted the 2,000th interview for the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Oral History Program. Volunteer interviewer Ellen Bowers Healey interviewed Dennis F. Kinney, who served in both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force and retired in 1968 after 20 years of service. Below

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Out of the Ordinary by Russ Horton

There are still service members who, for a variety of reasons, write the occasional letter with pen and paper. Sometimes, they even choose to write letters because they have something out of the ordinary on which to write. Andrew Brady, a Poynette native who served with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines

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John Garrett: A Veteran in the Spotlight

Born on July 6, 1922 in Oak Park, Illinois, John W. Garrett was in a fraternity studying Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Illinois when he heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Knowing they were at war, John decided to enlist in the spring of 1942.  As an engineer

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Together in War by Emily Irwin

Born twenty minutes apart in Kiel, Wisconsin, identical twins Willard and Wilbur Diefenthaler share a story of duty and sacrifice during World War II.  They were drafted together on December 7, 1942 and after induction at Fort Sheridan, Wilbur joined the 919th Field Artillery and Willard went to the 101st

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A Date Which Will Live in Infamy by Emily Irwin

Today marks the 73rd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, where an estimated 200 Wisconsin men and women were stationed on December 7, 1941. One such Wisconsinite was Gunner’s Mate Stanley Gruber. A Butler, Wisconsin native, Gruber entered the Navy in 1939 and was stationed aboard the USS Maryland. In April 1940,

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