The Bugle Summer 2023

Postcard of the newly erected Camp Randall Memorial Arch in Madison, Wisconsin. The caption on the one-cent postcard reads, “Erected by the State of Wisconsin to mark the Dayton Street entrance to Camp Randall, over which passed 70,000 soldiers, and more than 500,000 relatives and friends during the Civil War." The card is associated with the 23rd Wisconsin Infantry Reunion which was held June 18-19, 1912 in Madison. WVM.0363.I001

FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT

DAN CHECKI

VICE PRESIDENT

JOANE MATHEWS

TREASURER

DAVE HEILIGER

SECRETARY

TOM HUISMANN

DIRECTORS AT LARGE

ALEJANDRO ARANGO-ESCALANTE

DAN GREENE

WILLIAM F. HUSTAD

TIMOTHY LA SAGE

JOSEPH NAYLOR

PHIL PRANGE

BOB SIMMONS

NATHANIEL T. MILSAP, JR.

JEFF BOUDREAU

PAUL MCEVILLY

CONNIE WALKER

COLLECTION DONORS

2/9/23–5/16/23

FOUNDATION STAFF

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

JENNIFER CARLSON

608.261.0536

JENNIFER.CARLSON@ WVMFOUNDATION.COM

A most sincere thank you to all who donated to our collection from February 2023–May 2023. Thank you for your generosity and support of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.

American Legion, Department of Wisconsin

James Angevine

Susan Bailey

Angela Becker-Bradley

Claire Checovich

Daniel Connery

Nancy Gundlach

Thomas Kandziora

Barbara J. Klemp

Mary Kolar

Sarah LeBerge

Stuart Martell

Sue Martinson

Donna Murphy

Ralph Pfeiffer

John Rodas

Mary Sciurba

Steve Simer

Charles Steinke

Marc Storch

Tom Uebersetzig

Barbara White

Sandra Willkomm

MUSEUM MISSION

The mission of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum is to commemorate, acknowledge, and affirm the role of Wisconsin veterans in America’s military past and present

The Bugle is published quarterly for our members and friends through the support of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation. The Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation provides funds for the support of artifact acquisitions, exhibit production, and the development of educational programs.

A photograph of a view of the Camp Randall Memorial Arch, located in Madison, Wisconsin, during the day. Associated with 23rd Wisconsin Infantry Reunion. WVM.0363.I003

FROM THE SECRETARY

Thank you for your continuing support of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. Warm summer days have finally returned to Wisconsin, and we are grateful to see so many of you come back to visit our outstanding museum.

This spring it was great to see so many end-of-the-school-year tours being scheduled for students, teachers, and parents eager to see the museum. Visitors also continue to share overwhelming positive feedback with our staff regarding the detailed exhibits and unique items on display that draw in so many from all corners of the Badger state, the nation, and the world.

This issue of The Bugle is special as it focuses on veteran stories from the southcentral part of the state from communities in the counties of Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Grant, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock, and Sauk. Many of those stories go all the way back to the days of the Civil War. It is fitting that this issue also pays tribute to the 160th anniversary of the historic Civil War battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Thousands of Wisconsin service members, including many from communities in southcentral Wisconsin, served and died in these decisive battles that ultimately determined the course of our nation.

As I have traveled around the state this spring meeting with veterans and families, I listened to their personal experiences,

concerns, and how we can continue to make a positive difference for them and the ones they love. The impact of sharing veteran stories is incredible, and it has an amazing ability to connect people across the years and from many diverse backgrounds.

Our Wisconsin Veterans Museum is a benefit for our veterans and is committed to preserving their experiences for future generations. As we continually embrace the essence of our museum’s motto, “Every Veteran Is a Story,” it rings true no matter what era, service, or circumstance.

I urge my fellow veterans to consider sharing their own personal stories of service with our museum, no matter how small. There is always something for us to learn from every shared veteran experience. Please visit our museum’s website and share your story, a photo, or a fond memory of your time in uniform. No matter if a veteran served 50 years ago or five years ago, their story is a vital part of our history.

On your next visit to downtown Madison, I hope you can stop by so you can experience our museum for yourself and connect with the impressive history of our Wisconsin veterans.

Yours in Service,

James Bond Secretary-designee Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs

Picture of the Iron Brigade members take at a reunion at Devils Lake, WI September 16-17, 1896. Mss2007.148.I002c

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Dear Friends of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, Greetings! I hope you all are enjoying your summer so far. It has been an exciting last few months, especially as we celebrated our 30th anniversary at 30 West Mifflin Street. Our event on June 6 was special and drove home what a great community surrounds this museum. We have accomplished all we have thanks to all our supporters over the years, and it makes me optimistic for the future.

This issue finishes our approach of focusing on a specific region of Wisconsin, highlighting stories in our collection from that area. We’re concluding with Madison, southcentral Wisconsin, and the Driftless region. This area is of special personal interest, as my mother’s family is from Green and Juneau Counties. I count among my many Wisconsin Veteran ancestors Oswald Babler, a Civil War veteran who helped found New Glarus; Sam Steffen of Elroy, who served as a Marine in Peking during the 1911 Chinese Revolution; Ray H. Schoonover, a WWI veteran who represented Green County in the Assembly in the 1940s; and my grandfather, John A. Steffen of Elroy, who served in Europe during and after World War II. I have Grandpa’s trumpet from Germany in my office at the museum, alongside a souvenir from Sam Steffen’s China service. I recognize and honor their service alongside the thousands of Wisconsin veterans we remember every day.

You’ll also notice a Civil War theme to this issue. This is tied to the 160th Anniversaries of Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Chickamauga/Chattanooga in 1863, all battles that marked this state and left legacies visible and audible today.

The museum continues our extensive online offerings which continue to attract audiences from across the state, nation, and world. These are only possible with the help and support of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation. I encourage everyone to see what is available at our website.

Best wishes to all of you and thank you for your continuing support. See you at the museum soon.

Best,

Chris Kolakowski

Cordelia Harvey did not serve in Union Army during the Civil War, but she made it her life’s mission to make sure that sick and wounded Union soldiers received the care they deserved. After her husband, Wisconsin Governor Louis Harvey, died while visiting wounded Wisconsin troops in Tennessee, Cordelia began advocating for the creation of hospitals in Wisconsin where wounded soldiers could recover away from the fighting and the front lines in a more familiar environment. She met with President Lincoln multiple times to plead her case. She succeeded. Harvey Hospital in Madison treated more than 600 wounded Wisconsin soldiers during the war. Afterward, Harvey led the conversion of the hospital into an orphanage for children who lost their parents during the Civil War. Harvey Hospital became the Soldiers’ Orphans Home and cared for more than 650 children. The Harveys are buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison.

Karl Ruf was born in Germany but immigrated to the U.S. as a child. His family settled in Monroe, Wisconsin where he and his father worked as saddlers. Karl volunteered to serve in the Civil War in October 1861. He joined the 9th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, which was also known as the 1st German regiment, a unit composed almost entirely of German immigrants. They saw action in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and present-day Oklahoma. Ruf rose in the ranks from private to first sergeant, and in September 1864, he left the 9th Wisconsin to become adjutant for the newly formed 45th Wisconsin Infantry. With them, he saw out the remainder of the war from Nashville, Tennessee.

By: Russ Horton Reference Archivist

VETERAN IS A STORY

FROM THE By: Andrea Hoffman Collections Manager

COLLECTION

While Civil War veteran Stanley E. Lathrop was born in New York and spent much of his life engaged in ministerial work across Wisconsin and the south, many of his 84 years were spent in the Madison area where he was well known as a Civil War historian, Grand Army of the Republic chaplain, and State Capitol tour guide. Lathrop’s family moved to the central Wisconsin town of New London during his childhood, but he was living in Westfield in Marquette County and attending Beloit College at the time he enlisted in Company M, 1st Wisconsin Cavalry Regiment at the age of 18 in December 1861.

Less than a year later, while camped at L’Anguille Ferry, Arkansas, Corporal Lathrop found himself in a precarious position in the early morning hours of August 3, 1862. His regiment was transporting a supply train across the northern part of the state when Lathrop, having awoken early to feed his horse, realized they were being ambushed by Confederate troops. Caught off guard and largely defenseless, he and 56 other soldiers of the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry were forced to surrender.

The group of prisoners were immediately led on a two-day march to the prison camp in Little Rock, but learned upon arrival the camp was already at capacity. Their captors then made the hasty decision to instead put Lathrop, along with several other men, in reinforced rooms in the warden’s house.

The spaces were dingy and airless with barely enough room for everyone to sit. While the cramped conditions and poorquality food were difficult to bear, the prisoners learned they would soon be paroled which motivated them to maintain their physical stamina ahead of their return journey. In October, Lathrop boarded a steamer in St. Louis for old Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien, then traveled by train to Madison. From there, Lathrop walked the remaining 60 miles home to Westfield where he spent the next several months recovering. Although he was discharged due to disability in January 1863, he reenlisted that December and continued to serve for the duration of the war, which included participation in the Atlanta campaign and the capture of Confederate president Jefferson Davis in May 1865. Before mustering out, he was promoted to company commissary sergeant.

Afterward, Lathrop completed his degree at Beloit then attended the Chicago Theological Seminary, becoming a reverend in the Congregational church in 1870. In the early 1880s, Reverend Lathrop returned to the south as part of the American Missionary Association, providing both ministerial and educational guidance to Black youth in Macon, Georgia, followed by missionary work in Tennessee and Texas. While in Tennessee, Lathrop attended the annual meeting of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland held in Chattanooga in September 1889. There, he carried the canteen shown here, one of its painted scenes depicting two soldiers enacting the “we drank from the same canteen” motto of the GAR.

Other pieces in Lathrop’s collection include a twisted wood cane bearing his name and an 1850s Confederate militiastyle sword he found after an April 1865 skirmish outside Tuskegee, Alabama at what would later become the Booker T. Washington farm. After the war, Chief Quartermaster Abram Lawrence also gave Lathrop a piece of wool bunting cut from a Confederate flag captured at the capitol in Richmond on April 3, 1865, which is sewn to a Confederate banknote taken six days later during General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, its history recorded on the back.

In addition to staying busy in his post-retirement years as an author, poet, chaplain, and historian, Lathrop also played a role in reestablishing the G.A.R. Memorial Hall at the new Wisconsin State Capitol when it opened in 1918. He was particularly instrumental in organizing and researching the battle flag collection for the museum. Described in his obituary as “one of the leaders of the rapidly dwindling band of Madison veterans of the Civil War,” Lathrop managed to remain active in Civil War veteran events into his 80s. Stanley E. Lathrop passed away in Madison following a brief illness on December 26, 1927 at the age of 84 and is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery.

Certain historic events are seared into our collective memory and reside within our individual being. Most of us can remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when the World Trade Center was attacked. We all knew we were living though an historic event, but how do we make sense of our personal experience in the context of the national collective memory? Enter the historian it’s what we do.

For the average person living day-today, most don’t see their actions or experiences as “historical” until significant time has passed, and they have begun to consider how their generation will be remembered and what they witnessed. We may remember the feeling of a nation united after the 9/11 attacks. We may remember collecting socks and underwear to send to New York City’s first responders

or singing “God Bless America” with fellow bar patrons to express our collective grief. You may have joined the military because you just had to do something. During these times, people simply live and cope in the moment. As historians we have the benefit of hindsight to interpret significance. We have access to sources, perspectives, and interpretations that provide a contextual understanding that those who lived through the events didn’t have at the time.

A person cannot simply read news accounts of an event to understand its historical significance. Media sources of the day can tell us how the public perceived events as they unfolded and to what level of importance the events were given in society at that time. However, these accounts lack the context of personal reflections on the event.

For example, with the 160th anniversary of the battle this July, let’s look at Gettysburg. From a report on July 11, 1863 in the Wisconsin State Register: Gettysburg “was a complete victory… splendidly fought by the army, which redeemed itself… all did their duty.” Looking just at the newspapers' accounts, one could get the impression that all were, “in excellent spirits.” However, historians today understand from personal accounts that despite victory, the battle was one of the most desperately fought, brutal struggles up to that point in the war, and that many individuals and families were forever changed because of it.

Personal accounts provide unique insights that help us understand how those that participated in the event felt in the immediate aftermath. From a public historian’s perspective, it’s those accounts that are most valuable. This information

helps us empathize with individuals who were there, and we learn directly from their experiences, even though we have never met in person.

From an even broader perspective of a national historical narrative, it’s the events that follow the momentous events that inform how individuals see where their own personal stories fit into “history.” These moments of reflection generally occur around anniversaries as time marches on, and it’s the legacy of the event witnesses’ that shapes how the event is remembered in history.

As decades pass after an event, national memory tends to revolve around significant anniversary dates – usually those that end in 0s or 5s. By the time of 50th anniversaries, there is usually even more significant public attention paid to those events with particular interest in

what they mean to those that experienced it and consideration for how those events play into our national history. In many ways 50th anniversaries are the last big push to document stories before those who remember are gone.

For example, look at the World War II generation: in the early 1990s, there was a dramatic increase in national effort to document that generation’s stories with particular attention paid to the 1994 anniversary of the D-Day Normandy landings. At the time of those fiftieth anniversaries, most of the oldest veterans were in their 90s while the youngest ones were roughly 70 years old. It is usually in that period that the limitations of our humanity are clearer than ever with fewer and fewer comrades able to gather at reunions and ceremonies. That’s usually

what sparks this reflection on legacy and meaning in the historical narrative that will outlast all of us. It’s a reality that every generation has come to terms with, and the Civil War generation was no different.

From 1911 through 1915, the nation commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Civil War. In preparation for that, on the heels of creating the GAR Memorial Hall (the predecessor of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum) in 1901, the Wisconsin State Legislature created a commission in 1905 to “make some provision for recording [those stories] while many of the actors therein are living.” For Wisconsin, the state’s main commemorative focus was the 1912 dedication of the Memorial Arch at Camp Randall and the publication of those recorded histories that the commission compiled. The following year, at the

(Previous Page) WVM.1031.I029 This panorama of the reunion at Vicksburg in 1917 was annotated by Hosea W. Rood and most likely hung in the GAR Memorial Hall. (Top Left) General J.A. Patee and his "Old Soldier Fiddlers" at the Iron Brigade Monument at Gettysburg Reunion July 1-9, 1913. (Top Right) WVM.2236.I001 and I002 Frank H. Liscum, of Lancaster, Wisconsin served in Company C, 2nd Wisconsin Infantry, Iron Brigade during the Civil War. Liscum was one of the Wisconsin veterans that attended the Gettysburg Reunion in 1913. In his collection are photos from the reunion as well as two images showing him as he appeared at the time of the battle in 1863 and at the reunion in 1913.

national level, the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg was selected as the focal point for honoring the veterans of fifty years before.

For the first time significant national and state resources were committed to a Great Peace Jubilee (also known as the “Grand Reunion”) on the anniversary days of the battle. It was the first national joint reunion that brought together Union and Confederate veterans. Many speculated that it was probably the single largest gathering of Civil War veterans in one place with 53,407 veterans in attendance (44,713 Union, 8,694 Confederate), and more than 100,000 people who came to witness the momentous reunion. National media coverage carried the stories of the old veterans coming together on the battlefield not with desire for conflict, but with a desire to remember, reflect, and heal. Additional National Memorial and Peace Jubilee reunions were held in the following years on other battlefields.

In 1917, Hosea W. Rood, veteran of the 12th Wisconsin and caretaker of the GAR Memorial Hall, attended and commented on the Peace Jubilee held at Vicksburg. He annotated a panorama photograph

from the event that most likely hung in the GAR Memorial Hall and remains in our collection today. He inscribed, “Thousands of old veterans—Union and Confederate— gathered there as guests of Uncle Sam, who paid all expenses…Wisconsin paid the entire expense of about 375 Vicksburg veterans on the trip down and back. The tents were pitched between the old siege lines.” Reunited on the bitterly fought battlefield, veterans had a chance to reflect with old comrades and foes on lives lost and lived and perhaps find peace, closure, and common ground. The final national reunion was held on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1938.

Though attention will always be given to the original historical events themselves and rightfully so, especially for battles in terms of the cost of human life. As historians, we are reminded to look at the entire bigger picture to understand the deep impact those momentous events had on the individuals that not only experienced the events, but then had to reconcile those memories throughout the rest of their lives.

By: Kevin Hampton, Curator of History & Greg Lawson, Museum Store Manager

ARCHIVES FROM THE

By: Brittany Strobel Processing Archivist

Campbell served with Company A, 13th Wisconsin [Veteran Volunteer] Infantry Regiment. Campbell was a prisoner of war for 8 months and 11 days at Cahaba Prison, Alabama, Macon and Andersonville, Georgia.

Marlin served with Company H, 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery. He was later the Department Commander for the Grand Army of the Republic. Russell served with Company E, 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, and was a prisoner of war at Andersonville.

Wannemaker served with Company E, 25th Wisconsin [Volunteer] Infantry Regiment, and was a prisoner of war at Cahaba Prison, Alabama.

In the image, the veterans are gathered around a print of Andersonville Prison, looking west. Campbell’s hand is resting on a piece of the Andersonville stockade, which was donated to the GAR Memorial Hall.

This photograph was taken by Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall Custodian Hosea Rood on November 18, 1907. It features four veterans who were all at Andersonville Prison, Georgia on October 17, 1907 as part of the Andersonville Memorial Park Commission. The veterans are Alexander B. Campbell [1], John C. Marlin [2], Charles H. Russell [3] and Charles H. Wannemaker [4].

(Top Right) Part of a stockade post from Andersonville Prison that was in the ground. This log was dug up October 17, 1907 by Commander John C. Martin & Alexander B. Campbell. Campbell served in Co. A 13th Wisconsin Infantry and he was imprisoned at Andersonville for several months. He survived and mustered out on May 30, 1865. You can see Campbell holding the log in the photograph.

GATEKEEPER OF COLLECTIONS: THIS IS BRITTANY STROBEL PROCESSING ARCHIVIST

Deep in the recesses of the State Archive Preservation Facility (SAPF) on the east side of Madison, Brittany Strobel , the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Processing Archivist, has the privilege of preserving the significant events and innermost thoughts of some of our veterans.

The processing archivist has the official responsibility of the archival accessioning, processing, catalog maintenance, collection locations, and digitization of archival collections. This means that anything that is paper (diaries, letters, newspaper clippings, orders, photos, and scrapbooks), video, or audio materials that the museum adds to its collection, Strobel reads and reviews. She feels it is an honor to perform this work.

“Due to the innately personal nature of our collections, I become familiar with family news, new experiences for servicemembers, real-time accounts of romances, travel, and the realities of being far from home, often for the very first time. Processing collections gives me unique insight into the personalities of veterans and their families and can often feel like getting to know someone. It is a very personal thing to read someone’s innermost thoughts and secrets that they share with friends and family, and it is a real privilege to interact with the collections,” Strobel says.

While describing the work she has been doing full-time since 2016 can be technical and dry, the care and conscience behind Strobel’s work is evident in how she approaches her tasks. Strobel says, “I always give myself a few moments with each collection to appreciate how unique the story is, and how lucky I am to get to interact with the collection, summarize the stories and put records up online so people all over the world can find it.”

Strobel is often the person that family members speak with to learn about the service of their ancestors. Because of her intimate knowledge of the veteran’s collection, she can recount experiences the veteran may never have shared with their family. Those revelations often bring the family to tears, and that’s when Strobel knows she has done her job well.

Even though she spends much of her time in the past with other people’s papers, during her time out of the SAPF, she enjoys searching unique cookbooks for new recipes to try. She loves to cook the items she finds at farmers markets and specialty grocery stores.

When planning for stories in this publication, social media posts, traveling exhibits, window displays, gallery exhibits, and for many other information requests, Strobel’s work animates our core belief that Every Veteran Is a Story.

By: Jennifer Stevenson Marketing Specialist, Sr.

The State Archive Preservation Facility or SAPF, pronounced by staff as “safe,” is a purpose-built, state-of-the-art space designed to care for Wisconsin’s historical artifacts and archives. The State of Wisconsin completed construction in 2017 and in 2018 the Wisconsin Veterans Museum moved its collections storage from the basement of the museum building on Capitol Square to the SAPF. The 188,000 square foot building is shared with the Wisconsin State Historical Society, the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, the State Capitol, and the Executive Residence for housing all sorts of historical collections not in use elsewhere.

Currently, a rough estimate for the Wisconsin Veterans Museum’s archival holdings, which includes anything that is paper, audio, or video, is measured at 3,000 cubic ft. of collections. This grouping contains over 2,000 processed collections and hundreds more that still require review and arrangement to make them more easily usable. Artifacts, threedimensional items like flags, uniforms, and swords, number more than 26,500. The museum collection is broad and vast, and the SAPF building was designed to accommodate the special conditions needed to preserve a breadth of items.

The Wisconsin Veterans Museum portion of the SAPF contains climate-controlled storage spaces which adjusts both temperature and humidity conditions to slow deterioration of leather, wood, wool, cotton, paper, recording tape, etc. It also houses freezers to eliminate insect infestations in artifacts, cold storage for sensitive materials like film, a photography studio for documenting artifacts, a conservation lab to restore and clean artifacts, and dedicated spaces for object preparation and archival digitization projects. Through the series of profiles in The Bugle, you’ve met everyone who is headquartered there and cares for the museum collection: Andrea Hoffmann, collections manager; Sarah Kapellush, registrar; and Brittany Strobel, processing archivist.

By: Jennifer Stevenson Marketing Specialist, Sr.

A LOOK INSIDE THE "SAFE"

WHERE 97% OF THE MUSEUM

COLLECTION RESIDES

Currently in the conservation lab, contracted conservator, Craig Deller, is cleaning and restoring six chromolithographs from the 1870s that were rescued from the basement of a private home in Milwaukee. Here, Deller is cleaning an oxidized linseed oil layer to brighten the chromolithographs of Admiral David Farragut. In the background is a restored portrait of General William T. Sherman. The restored pieces will be installed in the G.A.R. hearing room at the Wisconsin State Capitol, which is the original location of the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall, the precursor to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.

As time marches on and the gallery space at 30 W. Mifflin St. remains the same size as it was in 1993, the space at the SAPF becomes increasingly important to the future of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. Most museums of our size exhibit about 20% of their total collection. The Wisconsin Veterans Museum currently exhibits just 3%. Without the space at the SAPF to house its collections, the museum would run out of room to properly care for the items entrusted to it, let alone continue to have the ability to bring in the collections of recent service members.

A visit to the current Wisconsin Veterans Museum impresses visitors for certain. Behind these exhibits are hundreds of additional stories locked away in the SAPF. The SAPF enables the museum staff to continue to collect stories of our veterans and care for their historic archival pieces and artifacts. Being able to publicly tell the stories of a wider array of our veterans in a new purpose-built museum is the next logical step to honoring the service of all our veterans and encouraging an intelligent love of country for the next generation.

THE PERFECT READ

Want to learn more about the Civil War? The gift shop staff at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, with the assistance of our curators, can help you find the perfect book. From classics like James McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom and Shelby Foote’s epic three-volume narrative history to the latest prize winners from The Society for Military History, we will help you find the perfect title.

"But I can just order a Civil War book online," you say. No algorithm or AI has yet been developed that can match the depth of knowledge of our staff when the topic is Wisconsin’s role in the Civil War. A few years ago, research estimated that some 60,000 books about the Civil War have been published, and more are being published all the time. How do you know where to start? If we don’t have the title in stock, we will search high and low, far and wide to find it. Many of the “classics” are now out of print. If you don’t know a regiment from a corps or want to learn more what the 6th regiment did during the 10:00 am hour at Antietam, we want to help.

Oxford University Press

UNC Press

Modern Library New York

Image from the John Koeppen Collection, WVM.1453I117

T ALKING SPIRITS

FOREST HILL CEMETERY

On March 29, 1973, the last American combat troops were withdrawn from Vietnam and Wisconsin was there in more ways than one. Join the Wisconsin Veterans Museum for their annual Talking Spirits: Forest Hill Cemetery Tours, now celebrating its 25 th year. See, hear, and experience how the Vietnam War changed the lives of thousands of Wisconsinites for decades to come. These tours will feature four vignettes along the tour route, as historical actors portray veterans’ experiences in Vietnam, as well as the policymakers who brought the war to conclusion, and the important mission of bringing our MIA’s home.

SCHOOL TOURS: OCTOBER 2-5 | CANDLELIGHT TOURS: OCTOBER 7

PUBLIC (DAYTIME) TOURS: OCTOBER 8

GEORGE E. MANUEL was born on July 5, 1917 in North Carolina. He was living there when he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1939, serving throughout World War II. He rejoined the U.S. Air Force in 1951. Interestingly, the U.S. military segregated African-Americans during World War II, but had desegregated by the time Manuel rejoined in 1951, so he experienced both situations. He remained in the Air Force, serving at Truax Field in Madison for a time, until 1966, when he retired with 20 years of service.

MELVIN ROBERT LAIRD JR. was an American politician, writer, and statesman. He was a U.S. congressman from Wisconsin from 1953 to 1969 before serving as Secretary of Defense from 1969 to 1973 under President Richard Nixon. Laird was instrumental in forming the administration’s policy of withdrawing U.S. soldiers from the Vietnam War; he coined the expression “Vietnamization,” referring to the process of transferring more responsibility for combat to the South Vietnamese forces.

RICHARD W. FISCHER vanished in Vietnam’s Quang Nam Province when he was part of a Marine ambush team. Military investigators started searching for Fischer’s body in the area where he disappeared in the 1990s. After tips from local residents, they excavated a burial site where they found his remains in 1994. Investigators initially failed to recover a DNA sequence from bone samples to prove it was Fischer. Technology improved over time, and they succeeded in obtaining a sequence in 2007. Fischer’s sister and niece gave DNA samples, which were matched to his DNA. Fischer’s remains were flown back to Wisconsin from a military base in Hawaii where they had been for more than a decade.

CHIA VUE VANG was a native of Laos. Her husband served with the CIA during the Vietnam War, as did six of her sons. Meanwhile, she and her family hid in the jungles of Vietnam to avoid the Communists. When the Communists took over in 1975, Chia and her family fled to Thailand without money, medicine, or food. They eventually made their way to the United States.

W ISCONSIN VE TERANS MUSEUM

FOUNDATION

WELCOME

CONNIE WALKER

We are delighted to announce a new addition to our Foundation Board of Directors! Connie Walker, a retired U.S. Navy Captain will bring a wealth of experience and service to our board.

Since retiring from naval service in 2005, Connie focuses on building sustainable federal and state VA and non-VA partnerships to address cultural competency and access-to-care challenges facing seriously disabled veterans, their caregivers, and families. Her federal and state trainings have included VA transition patient advocates at the National Institute of Mental Health; faculty, administration, and counseling staff in the University of Maryland and University of Wisconsin Systems; crisis intervention training for Maryland and Wisconsin law enforcement and other first responders; and clergy leadership training in central and southcentral Wisconsin.

Her testimonies to the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs and the Maryland General Assembly have contributed to the passage of multi-million dollar increases in federal and state funding to expand VA and non-VA mental health and substance abuse programs and rehabilitative services. She is the primary caregiver for her son, Michael, a seriously disabled army veteran of the Iraq War; and a legacy caregiver in the VA’s Caregiver Support Program. Eighteen years of caregiving, and mental health advocacy for her son, other veterans, and members of the community living with serious mental illness, inform Connie’s work on behalf of caregivers and families.

Connie also participated in the I Am Not Invisible traveling exhibit with the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs. The Museum also has her oral history, which you can listen to on the museum website.

Please join us in welcoming Connie!

New Foundation Board Member

Thirty years ago, in June of 1993, Governor Thompson authorized the movement of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum to its current location. The first Gulf War ended two years earlier. Since then, our nation has been involved in wars and conflicts continuously until our withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of 2021. The governor and legislative leadership could not have anticipated the amount of service and sacrifice our state's citizens would have to endure during the 30 years since the museum moved to 30 West Mifflin from the State Capitol. The original space dedicated to the displays can now hold only 3% of the material in our collection. The artifacts now span the Wisconsin contribution to every conflict from the Civil War to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Wisconsin Veterans Museum is an internationally recognized repository containing primary sources of our state and nation’s military history. Your donations and support protect the legacy of all those who served from the Civil War to Afghanistan. It is a great honor to be a part of this tradition and to have celebrated our 30th year at 30 West Mifflin on June 6 of this year. As we celebrate the 247th year since the signing of our Declaration of Independence, our Wisconsin Veterans Museum is a reminder of what it has cost to preserve that independence. This museum provides a touch point in vivid detail, not only for our children, but for our citizens and veterans as well, as to what service and sacrifice to a cause bigger than oneself means and entails.

We on the Board are grateful to our donors and supporters as we have begun the effort to build a new Wisconsin Veterans Museum capable of displaying the most important pieces of the collection and personal memoirs of our Wisconsin Veterans.

We look forward to working with the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, the legislative leaders, and you, our donors and patrons, to realize our vision for a new Wisconsin Veterans Museum at 30 West Mifflin capable of displaying our collection to honor the legacy of service and sacrifice Wisconsin citizens have offered in the past and continue to offer today.

In gratitude,

Daniel Checki Foundation Board President

Mark Your Calendar

TRIVIA NIGHT

19

TRIVIA NIGHT

7:00–8:00PM

Join us for our virtual trivia night and test your historical knowledge. Individuals and teams welcome.

MOVIE NIGHT

7:00–8:00PM

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Grab some popcorn and a seat in your favorite chair and join us for a virtual discussion of the selected movie with the Wisconsin Veterans Museum staff.

MESS NIGHT

5:30–8:00PM 11

Please join us for our quarterly dinner series with guest John McManus, professor of military history at Missouri University of Science and Technology and author of Island Infernos: The U.S. Army's Pacific War Odyssey, 1944.

$38 Members | $46 Non-Members | $30 Students (W/ID)

VIRTUAL DRINK & DRAW

7:00–8:00PM

Gather your art supplies, pour yourself a beverage, and bring your artistic energy as we spend the evening together stretching our creative muscles.

MOVIE NIGHT

7:00–8:00PM

Gallipoli (1981)

Grab some popcorn and a seat in your favorite chair and join us for a virtual discussion of the selected movie with the Wisconsin Veterans Museum staff.

29

Join us for our virtual trivia night and test your historical knowledge. Individuals and teams welcome.

MOVIE NIGHT

7:00–8:00PM

Catch 22 (1970)

7:00–8:00PM 25

Grab some popcorn and a seat in your favorite chair and join us for a virtual discussion of the selected movie with the Wisconsin Veterans Museum staff.

CEME TER Y TOURS XXV

Vie am: 50 Years Later

FOREST HILL CEMETERY

OCTOBER 2-8, 2023

SCHOOL TOURS: OCTOBER 2-5

CANDLELIGHT TOURS: OCTOBER 7

PUBLIC (DAYTIME) TOURS: OCTOBER 8

25TH SEASON

*For detailed information and registration visit: WisVetsMuseum.com/events

W ISCONSIN VE TERANS MUSEUM

U.S. Vet General Contracting, LLC

Cullen, Mark & Carol

Culver’s at Cottage Grove Rd. & W. Beltline Hwy.

Gruennert, Jim & Joann

Naleid, William

Wagner, Dennis American Legion Post 301 (Woodville)

Barnett, Jodi & Jim

Beauchamp, Edward

Carlson, Jen

CTW Abbey Carpet & Floor

DiSalvo, Tony

Erickson, Tim

Fargen, Joseph Cory

Finley, Barbara

Flatley, Tim

Hall, Jackson

Hall, Jonathan

Hanson, John

Harned, Lewis

Heinritz, Melinda & Mark

Howell, Jonathan

Hustad, William & Jackie

Jenson, Michelle

Johnson, Richard & Brenda

Kelly, James & Carol

Kolakowski, Peter & Jane

Krueger, Cal & Susie

Larson, Robert

Leverance, James & Jane

Loomis, Harold

Madison Navy League

Markert, Bruce & Kathryn

McGeshick, Roger

McGinley, Dennis

Millsap, Nathaniel & Tanisha

Mullins, Michael & Karen

Olson, James

Olson, John

Patterson, Bill

Patterson, James

Peterson, Gary

Ronnie, Mark

Schrag, Beverly

Schrum, William

Seifert, Howard

Sheski, John

Sloan, Fred & Nancy

Smith, Gary & Patricia

Sub- Zero Wolf Foundation, Inc

Taylor, David

VFW Post 7908

VFW, DEPT of WI

Viner, Orrin

Wagner, Gregory

Ward, Jonathan

We Energies Foundation

Wegner CPAs, LLP

Woods, Bruce

Bach, Daniel

Bieniek, Brian

Bradley, Bruce

Bull, Ronald

Christianson, Bill

Cornell Elementary School

Coronna, Mark

DeGuire, Frank

Devitt, Linda & Patrick

Dunn, Thomas & Joan

Fisher, Michael

Greene, Dan

Haag, Douglas

Hampton, Kevin & Brittany

Strobel

Haupt, William & Janet

Heiliger, Dan & Tarah

Hesselbein, Robert

Kallas, Phillip & Priscilla

Kelly, Joanne

Kind, Arn & Margaret

King, Jeannette

Knickmeier, Dan

Krikelas, Andrew

KWVA SE Wisconsin Chapter 227

Lundin, Dona

Martin, Robin

Martinka, Mark & Diane Dietrich

Mc Ternan, LT COL (Ret) George

Millane, James & Monica

Miller, Rick

Navy Club of the USA, Wisconsin

Squadron, Ship 60

Naylor, Joseph & Tasha

Nettesheim, Daniel

Phelan, Joan

Phillips, Elisabeth

Powles, John & Joanne

Race, John & Rita

Ralston, Richard & Krista

Roden, Robert

Rusch, Lynn

Schellpeper Family

Schroeder, John

Smith, Ken & Linda

St. Charles Catholic

Taylor, Peter & Ruth

VFW Post 9511 (Mount Horeb

Centennial)

Weber, Nicholas

Wegner, David & Mary

Wisconsin Vietnam Vets

Chapter 3

Wolf, Richard & Marjorie

Wren, Christopher

Ziegenhorn, Mark

Zimbric, Gerald & Hazel

THANK YOU DONORS A most sincere thank you to all who donated from March 2023 through end of May 2023. We cannot provide quality programming and award-winning exhibits without your help.