The Bugle Winter 2023

WINTER 2023

BUGLE

THE

WINTER 2023 | VOLUME 30:4

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CONTENTS 7 | FROM THE SECRETARY 9 | FROM THE DIRECTOR 10-11 | EVERY VETERAN IS A STORY 12-15 | FROM THE COLLECTION 16 | ELLEN AINSWORTH AT ANZIO 17 | MEET THE STAFF 18-19 | FROM THE ARCHIVES 20-21 | FROM THE FOUNDATION 22 | CALENDAR 23 | THANK YOU DONORS

This image features a group of soldiers in transit sharing a quick meal while traveling.

Photograph taken by Roy G. Zehren, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin who served as an infantryman and photographer with Company B, 23rd Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division in the Korean War. In his position as photographer, Zehren traveled throughout Korea and Japan with various regiments and companies to document the war. Following his service, Zehren returned to Wisconsin, eventually settling in Port Washington.

WVM.0589.I801.01

MUSEUM STAFF DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER L. KOLAKOWSKI | 608.266.1009

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR JENNIFER VAN HAAFTEN | 608.261.6802

WISCONSIN VETERANS MUSEUM

OPERATIONS ASSISTANT ELISE MCFARLANE | 608.261.0534

30 WEST MIFFLIN STREET

ORAL HISTORIAN

MADISON, WI 53703

LUKE SPRAGUE | 608.261.0537

CURATOR OF HISTORY KEVIN HAMPTON | 608.261.5409

PROCESSING ARCHIVIST BRITTANY STROBEL | 608.800.6958

ON THE CAPITOL SQUARE 608.267.1799 WisVetsMuseum.com

MUSEUM HOURS

COLLECTIONS MANAGER

Closed Mondays

ANDREA HOFFMAN | 608.800.6957

Tuesday−Saturday

REFERENCE ARCHIVIST

10:00 AM–5:00PM

RUSS HORTON | 608.267.1790

Sunday (April–September) Noon–5:00 PM

REGISTRAR SARAH KAPELLUSCH | 608.800.6955

CURATOR OF EXHIBITS GREGORY KRUEGER | 608.261.0541

RESEARCH CENTER HOURS By appointment only 608.267.1790

STORE MANAGER GREG LAWSON | 608.261.0535

MARKETING MANAGER JENNIFER STEVENSON | 608.264.6068

EDUCATION SPECIALIST ERIK WRIGHT | 608.264.7663

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COMMENTS & SUBMISSIONS We welcome your comments and editorial submissions concerning The Bugle. Comments and submissions should be sent to Jennifer Stevenson at Jennifer.Stevenson@dva.wisconsin.gov

FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

FOUNDATION STAFF

PRESIDENT

DIRECTORS AT LARGE

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

DANIEL CHECKI

ALEJANDRO ARANGO-ESCALANTE

JENNIFER CARLSON

VICE PRESIDENT

DAN GREENE

608.261.0536

JOANE MATHEWS

TIMOTHY LA SAGE

JENNIFER.CARLSON@

TREASURER

NATHANIEL T. MILLSAP, JR.

WVMFOUNDATION.COM

DAVE HEILIGER

JEFF BOUDREAU

SECRETARY

PAUL MCEVILLY

WILLIAM F. HUSTAD

CONNIE WALKER

MEMBERSHIP & EVENTS DIRECTOR MOLLY SNOW 608.261.0540 MOLLY.SNOW@ WVMFOUNDATION.COM

COLLECTION DONORS 8/16/23–11/13/23 A most sincere thank you to all who donated to our collection from August – November 2023.

Thank you for your generosity and support of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.

John Anderson Kathy Anderson Richard Berry Jean Bonin Jeanne Christie John Coulthard Dane County Historical Society Linda Devitt Denise Falkowski Tom Falkowski Richard J. Fehring

Sherrie Ferguson Rachel Formella Tarra Gundrum Juliane Hillebrand Rae Anne Ho Fung Linda Holmes Patricia Jones Kelly Kaat Jennifer Kasbohm Lora Keller Gerry Kitzhaber Tom Ligocki

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.

Linda McClenahan Maureen Menendez Kristine Migely Bill Montgomery Suzanne Perkins Ernest Peterson Daniel Pitterle John Powles Nancy Prokop Christine Scoville Dean S. Tillema Peter Todd

Cory Ulbrich University of Wisconsin Milwaukee College of Nursing Bart T. Van Roo Bernice Wendel Judith Wishman

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.

Photograph taken by Sydney M. Wood, on the boat journey home from World War II featuring the Statue of Liberty across New York Harbor with fellow servicemembers in the foreground.

Sydney M. Wood, a Lake Bluff, Illinois resident served as a co-pilot in the 327th Air Transport Squadron. Following his service, Wood attended college in Illinois before settling in Madison, Wisconsin. WVM.1935.I031 6

FROM THE SECRETARY

Greetings, and thank you for your support of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.

Our museum is one of our state’s great public assets. It is exceptional in the way that it preserves and displays the tapestry and legacy of Wisconsin’s veteran stories.

For this issue, I was asked to contemplate the theme of “light” and what comes to mind when you think of this word. For me, I compare light to the power of sight and how light can bring forth mutual understanding and cooperation between different groups of people.

Nowhere has this been more apparent for me than in my efforts to meet the needs of Wisconsin’s diverse veteran communities. During my travels around the state over the last several months, I’ve listened to veterans and their family members express their concerns and hopes for the future. That includes visiting with all eleven of Wisconsin’s Federally recognized Tribal Nations, our LGBTQ+ veterans, our state’s veteran service organizations, and hearing from veterans in rural and urban areas. Only together in the light can we find mutual understanding for our veterans and their families.

One group I want to highlight is the team at our museum: Director Chris Kolakowski, the dedicated curators, committed staff, and the WVM Foundation Board, which has provided unyielding support over the past year.

By preserving veteran oral histories, they are lighting the way and building bridges between our military, veteran, and civilian communities.

As we reach the end of one year, and look toward the new one, I thank you for your support of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, and for shining your light brightly for our veterans and their histories.

Yours in Service, James Bond Secretary-designee Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs

WINTER 2023

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This image is one in a series featuring United Service Organization (USO) performers traveling throughout Korea, giving concerts, dance performances, judging contests and providing entertainment and moments of rest for servicemembers. This photograph, taken from backstage, captures the entertainer and servicemembers during a show which showcases the Korean landscape. Photograph taken by Roy G. Zehren, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as an infantryman and photographer with Company B, 23rd Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division in the Korean War. In his position as photographer, Zehren traveled throughout Korea and Japan with various regiments and companies to document the war. Following his service, Zehren returned to Wisconsin, eventually settling in Port Washington.

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FROM THE DIRECTOR

Dear Friends of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, Greetings and Happy New Year! I hope this finds all of you well and safe. We’ve had a great fall, with many more school groups and visitors returning as our numbers climb back toward pre-pandemic levels. Cemetery Tours and Veterans Day were highly successful also. We look forward capitalizing on this momentum in 2024.

Our store is having one of its best years ever, so far beating even the record 2022-23 fiscal year. Our store is also one of the only places in Wisconsin where people can buy Space Force and USS Wisconsin SSBN-827 apparel. We also now carry dog toys, expanded COBI kits, and a wide variety of items for the entire family. If you haven’t seen what is on offer, please stop by or visit the on-line store on the museum website.

In case you’re wondering about the building and facility project, the State Department of Administration will handle the acquisition of the museum building at 30 West Mifflin Street from its current owners. Further funding for the new museum will be derived from a private/public partnership. The Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation is continuing a capital campaign to fundraise at least $40 million for the new museum building, with the balance of funds being sought in the FY 26-27 biennial budget. Once the project is fully resourced, the current building will be demolished, and a new building will be constructed.

This issue’s theme is Light. It is a broad concept that is intentionally open to individual interpretation, which I invite you to reflect on as you read these pages.

When considering the theme alongside veterans’ service, I see it as the light of liberty as expressed in both the Constitution and the oath servicemembers take to uphold it and its ideals. The ongoing 75th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, and the upcoming 80th anniversary of D-Day and the liberation of Europe, among other events in our history, only add to its meaning for me.

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

Best,

Chris Kolakowski WINTER 2023

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Marie Kutz, who received a Purple Heart after being wounded in a buzz bomb attack on London in 1944, spent the final part of her World War II overseas service in the City of Light. The Cleveland, Wisconsin native helped operate an Army post exchange (PX) in Paris where thousands of U.S. troops bought pictures, postcards, and other souvenirs to commemorate their time in the French capital. Her photo album contains hundreds of images from her army service, including her months in the City of Light.

EVERY VETER

Paul Winner, a Whitehall, Wisconsin native, was a graduate student at Harvard University when he volunteered for service in World War I. He trained as a pilot at Princeton University before deploying to France, where he helped build American airbases at Issoudun and Tours. The war ended before Winner completed his training, but he remained in Europe as part of U.S. occupation forces. He visited many cities across Europe, including Brussels, Pompeii, Rome, and of course, Paris. His collection includes letters, diary entries, photographs, and postcards from his time in the City of Light.

By: Russ Horton Reference Archivist

AN IS A STORY

By: Andrea Hoffman Collections Manager

Devices designed to maximize the properties of light have greatly advanced both communication and safety in modern military history. While some tools that are familiar today originated centuries ago, many in use since the early 20th century are either greatly improved by or born entirely from new innovations. Such equipment varies greatly from simple battery powered, pocket sized devices to vast systems utilizing infrared or fiber optic technology. What follows is just a small sampling of the numerous types of light-centric gear used by Wisconsin servicemembers in the 20th and 21st centuries found in our collection.

Today, optical communication in the military is often thought of as optical telecommunication; the use of technologically advanced fiber optic and free-space optical systems to transmit data across considerable distances. But this ever-evolving field draws from centuries of more basic methods of visual communication, like smoke signals, telegraph towers, and semaphore flags.

In the case of Capt. Robert E. Ramsay, a Milwaukee resident who served with Co. F, 339th Infantry Regiment during World War I, his British-made flare gun (known as a Very pistol) was used as a signaling device while traversing the remote environs of Archangel (Archangelsk), Russia during the winter of 1918. Ramsay was one of 5,000 men in the 339th Regiment serving under British command as part of the American North Russia Expeditionary Force (ANREF), also known as the Polar Bear Expedition. Flares were used by this group to guide troops and fired at intervals to mark progress when troops were travelling at a distance. In such a hostile environment, they could also be used as a distress signal. (V1999.1.240) Fifty years later, the simpler, all-in-one handheld “pop flare” (“Signal, Illumination, Ground, White Star, Parachute, M127A1”) proved practical for the dense jungles of Vietnam. The device propelled its flare an average height of 200 meters, able to clear jungle canopies to signal ground or air units. The attached parachute slowed the descent of the flare as it burned for 30 seconds, illuminating an area approximately 450 meters in diameter. The remaining outer tube seen here is from the collection of Rev. Ray Stubbe, a Wauwatosa, Wisconsin resident who served as a U.S. Navy chaplain with the 9th Amphibious Brigade, 26th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division during the siege of Khe Sanh. (V2006.12.18)

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Flares were not limited to use in the skies. This Marine AN Mk 13 “Signal, Smoke and Illumination” device provided options for both day (smoke) and night (flare) signaling. It was also purpose-designed to burn cool enough to comfortably remain in hand when used. This example is from the collection of Richard K. Hibma, a U.S. Navy veteran from Madison who served aboard USS Mansfield (DD-728) during the Vietnam War. According to Hibma, flares of this type were used to mark submarine locations before dropping depth charges.

(V2010.89.7)

FROM THE COLLECTIONS

With the advent of artificial electric light came opportunities for signaling on land, sea, and air. While such devices advanced through the 20th century, 19th century Morse code remained the preferred method of telecommunication. An example of a signal lamp with closing shutters used to flash Morse dots and dashes is seen in this photograph taken at Signal Tower BPT 38 in the Philippines by U.S. Navy veteran Martin F. Gutekunst in May 1945. (WVM Mss 0407.I033) Other systems moved beyond Morse code and incorporated colors into transmitted signals. For radio silence communication between tower and aircraft or aircraft to aircraft, devices like this Grimes signal light model set uses one of several colored filters on a trigger-operated handheld lamp to communicate. The 10% transmitting filter (purple) is meant for night signaling, while the red, green and amber filters indicate various landing instructions. This model was used by the 126th Air Refueling Squadron while refueling KC-97 Stratrofreighter tanker aircraft in the 1960s and 1970s. (V2003.60.56a-d)

WINTER 2023

Technology has advanced to infrared light, invisible to the naked eye.

Tiny devices like this Phoenix Junior Transmitter used during Operation Iraqi Freedom fit on top of a 9-volt battery making them useful tools for IFF (Identification, Friend or Foe) systems, marking things like mines, vehicles, and landing zones with a strobing light that can only be seen with night vision devices. (V2016.074.16a,b)

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Visit the Gift Store at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Store.WisVetsMuseum.com

SAFETY On the most basic level, artificial lighting is a means to overcome the limitations of darkness, whether on the battlefield at nighttime or, as in the case of this World War II-era photograph from the collection of George R. Affeldt, while on water. Search lights like the one pictured here were used to illuminate the vast darkness of both sea and sky to visualize nearby targets.

(WVM Mss 2247.1055) Lighting the darkness also applies to enclosed, windowless spaces like a battleship’s interior. Portable electric lanterns like this one were designed to hang along a ship’s passageways or within quarters to provide emergency lighting in the event a vessel lost power. Battery powered, waterproof lanterns could either light up the immediate vicinity onboard or be unhooked from the wall and carried out in the event of an evacuation. This example belonged to Juul H. Noer, a U.S. Navy hospital corpsman who served aboard the transport ship SS Matsonia in the Pacific during World War II and again during the Korean War on the repair ship USS Vulcan. The case is stenciled “Battle Dressing” on the reverse, indicating its use in the ship’s battle dressing station. (V1995.88.1) While the MX991/U model flashlight, featuring a 90 degree-angled head and a variety of filter options is heavily associated with the Vietnam War, such lights continue to be used today by both the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. This example made by Fulton Industries was carried by Jake Hubbard of Stevens Point, Wisconsin while at Marine Officer Candidate School at Quantico in 2005. These lights are designed to carry spare filters in various colors to either limit the emission of light or use for signaling. (V2005.40.23)

DISTRESS/SURVIVAL/RESCUE Lights play an especially critical part in distress or rescue situations. Personal rescue lights like this one (“Attachable Electric Light”) assist in the recovery of sailors who go overboard. This World War II version is designed with an integrated safety pin to fasten to a life vest or other clothing, with a single battery and simple ON/OFF switch. Charles J. Seitz of Wilmot, Wisconsin, a boatswain’s mate aboard the transport ship USS Cape Johnson (AP-172), carried this light with him while serving in the Pacific. (V2021.035.6) Not much changed in the next three decades, as this very similar D-31 Beacon (“Light, Marker, Distress”) from the Vietnam War era shows. This model was carried by U.S. Navy veteran Charles R. Lemons while serving as an Aviation Warfare Systems Operator-Helicopter (AWH) and working as a rescue crewman aboard Sikorsky SH-3D/G Sea King helicopters in the early 1970s. (V1984.7.4) Perhaps the simplest in design, some devices like this emergency signaling mirror carried by Harvey Klafke during World War II are made to function without relying on artificial light and instead use the power of sunlight to flash signals. His General Electric-made example instructs, “when rescue craft are not visible, practice sweeping cross-shaped spot along the horizon. Flash may be seen 10 miles.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, versions of these uncomplicated but effective mirrors are still produced today.

WINTER 2023

The practicality and simplicity of this and other similar types of communication, safety, and survival devices shared here likely ensure their endurance in one form or other. At the same time, rapid changes in technology mean continuing to make room for brand new innovations that further improve these areas.

(V2001.91.4a,b) 15

A

BADGER’S SACRIFICE:

AT ANZIO By: Chris Kolakowski WVM Director

I

n February 1944, Glenwood City, Wisconsin’s Lieutenant Ellen Ainsworth was on the staff of the 56th Evacuation Hospital in the Anzio Beachhead, in Italy. The Anglo-American VI Corps held a position along the Mediterranean coast south of Rome, no further than ten miles inland at its deepest point.

The entire beachhead was subject to German bombing and shelling, to include the hospitals along the coast. On February 10, prior to an offensive, the Germans shelled every Allied position in Anzio, including the 56th Evacuation Hospital. Ainsworth and several nurses rushed to protect their wounded patients and move them under cover.

Ainsworth’s Silver Star citation described her actions: Second Lieutenant Ainsworth was on duty in a hospital ward, while the area was being subjected to heavy enemy artillery shelling. One shell dropped within a few feet of the ward, its fragments piercing the tent in numerous places. Despite the extreme danger, she calmly directed the placing of 42 surgical patients on the ground to lessen the danger of further injury. By her disregard for her own safety and her calm assurance, she instilled confidence in her assistants and her patients, thereby preventing serious panic and injury.

Lieutenant Ainsworth was wounded in the action and died of those wounds on 16 February 1944—just weeks shy of her 25th birthday. Lieutenant Ainsworth and three of her comrades were awarded the Silver Star for their actions, the first nurses ever to be so honored. Unlike her comrades, Ainsworth’s award was posthumous.

“No one who served at Anzio will ever forget the gallantry of the medical personnel there, particularly the army nurses,” recalled Major General Lucian Truscott, who commanded 3rd Infantry Division and VI Corps at Anzio. “None of them had expected to work under artillery fire or air bombardment . . . [they] suffered the same hardships as did the front-line troops. Their contribution to the defense cannot be overestimated.”

Ellen Ainsworth was the only Wisconsin nurse killed in World War II, and today lies in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery at Anzio. In 2016, Glenwood City’s post office was named in her honor.

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MEET THE MUSEUM STAFF CHARGING FORWARD THIS IS CHRIS KOLAKOWSKI WVM DIRECTOR By: Jennifer Stevenson Marketing Manager

Since January of 2020, Chris Kolakowski has led the charge to preserve and tell the stories of Wisconsin veterans. In fact, he has devoted his career to preserving and interpreting U.S. military history.

For the U.S. Army, Kolakowski ran the National Museum of the Army Reserve at Fort McPherson and the General George Patton Museum and Center for Leadership at Fort Knox. He has a personal connection to Wisconsin’s military history with several of his ancestors being veterans of the Civil War and World Wars.

That connection lured him back here to serve our veterans.

He explains, “Even before moving here (from Virginia) in 2019, Wisconsin was a spiritual home for me.” With part of his formal education being in mass communications, Kolakowski is a natural for the duties of the job. As the public face for the museum, he meets with many audiences and stakeholders around Wisconsin and beyond.

Kolakowski said, “We need enthusiastic partners to succeed. What we do, and have done, is a product of the great team here at the veterans museum, our partners at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation, in Wisconsin state government, and our many supporters across Wisconsin and beyond.”

WINTER 2023

One of his most meaningful moments on the job thus far involved some of his favorite veterans in the museum collection: The Barber Brothers of New London. LeRoy, Malcom, and Randolph Barber served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Oklahoma. They perished at Pearl Harbor in 1941 when the Japanese torpedoed the vessel and it capsized. The brothers were buried as unknowns. As the museum staff updated the World War II stories told the gallery during a pandemic, they included the Barbers. On their label the staff noted the hope that one day their remains would be identified and brought home. In June of 2021, the remains of the brothers were identified and laid to rest in New London.

He said, “It gave me great satisfaction to change the label to reflect that fact.”

As he once did as a radio play-by-play sports broadcaster and color commentator for Emory & Henry College, Kolakowski calls the plays to move the mission of the museum forward to preserve and share the stories of all Wisconsin veterans.

(Photo) One of the more public duties Kolakowski enjoys is giving the keynote address at the official state observance of Veterans Day in the Capitol Rotunda. This year he shares a favorite story, the origin of our famous battle cry – On, Wisconsin!

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Dennis L. Boyer Collection, WVM.0057.I004

Dean M. Rockstad Collection, WVM.0611.I163.M5

LOOKING FOR LIG Read more about these photos on our blog at wisvetsmuseum.com.

Mss2022.005.001.I006

Jeffery J. Coonjohn Collection, WVM.0542.I218,

Mss2022.005.001.I008

Ted T. Boquist Collection, WVM.1545.I158.T1S043

Robert Jackson Ellison Collection, WVM.1947...I4360 Mss2022.005.001.I001

GHT

Robert Jackson Ellison Collection, WVM.1947.I522

FROM THE ARCHIVES By: Brittany Strobel Processing Archivist Sydney M. Wood Collection, WVM.1935.I007

Norris Tibbets Collection, WVM.0912.I023

Mark C. Patronsky Collection

Walter Peckham Collection, I027

Robert Jackson Ellison Collection, WVM.1947.I4376

A most sincere thank you to all who gave a gift in honor or in memory of a veteran, friend, or family member in your life in 2023. Thank you for honoring their legacies!

Bieniek, CSM (Ret) Brian, honored by Vicki & Tony Passante & Jen Carlson Brellenthin, Birdell “Burly,” honored by Brian & Sarah King Buschman, Harold, honoring his memory are Edwin & Sally Nyberg Company L, 32nd Division, 127th Infantry, honored by Jim & Joann Gruennert Crawford, Phil & Sherman, honoring their memory is Karen Crawford Dean, Rexford John, honored by David Dean Doherty, Joseph Aaron, honored by Alice Hampton Dunn, Jack Robert, honored by Ashley Popovich Ely, Michael, honored by Jessica Ely Evans, John Arvid, honored by John Sheski Finley, Pat, honoring his memory are Barbara Finley & Friends/Family of Pat Fisher, Donald, honored by Michael Fisher Heiliger, COL Donald, honoring his memory is Joel Lewis Hustad, William, honored by Andy Pulvermacher Majka, John, honored by Andrew Majka Kleinsteiber, Mary, honored by Larry Kleinsteiber McNown, John, honored by Marjorie Zwickel

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Members of Southern WI Chpt. MOAA, honored by LTC (Ret) Stephen Gauger

Miller, Gerald, honoring him is Nancy Miller Mullins, Michael, honored by Sally Carpenter Osborne, II, CPT William, honoring his memory are Jessica Osborne & William Osborne Platz, William, honored by John Sheski Schmelling, Thomas, honoring his memory are Elisabeth Phillips & Wade Dallagrana Schellpeper, Charles, honored by Marilyn & John Olson & Suellyn Schellpepper Schmitz, Harold, honoring his memory is Linda Devitt Todd, Wesley, honored by Peter Todd Waelti, Ronald, honored by Dennis Ace Ward, William & Thomas, honoring their memory is Mary Ann Ward Decatur Weil, Henry, honored by Dave & Judy Arawinko Weingandt, John, honoring his memory are Marjunice Weingandt, family & friends Winter, CPT Edward, honored by Donna Winter Wise, PVT Brett Marlow, honoring his memory are Mitchell & Roslyn Wise Wolf, Fritz, honoring his memory are Richard & Marjorie Wolf Wright, Philo, honoring his memory is Elisabeth Wright Zavoral, William, honoring his memory is Alan Bilse

FROM THE FOUNDATION PRESIDENT Remembrance As I write this entry, Veterans Day has just passed, and we are about to enter the holiday season.

The ceremonies commemorating the end of the First World War and the sacrifices offered by so many Wisconsinites who served in the military were a throwback to my youth. The Governor spoke and noted his commitment to the homeless veterans and others in the community who suffer traumas after 20 years of almost continuous warfare. The band played “Sousa Marches,” and the Holy Cross Lutheran Church Choir sang several selections including, “America the Beautiful.”

When I was a boy, these activities were commonplace. The leaders would speak, the bands would play, and songs would be sung to commemorate and remember the service and sacrifice required to keep a nation free. Since the all-volunteer force was established, the disconnect between our civilian and military population has widened and, with the continued isolation of our service members from the citizenry, the understanding of what is required to defend our way of life is not appreciated by many.

Paul Gigot wrote a piece in the Wall Street Journal on November 11 entitled, “Isolationism Makes a Perilous Moment More So,” in which Gigot spoke of the isolationist tendency that can afflict our nation’s politics. He referenced the dangers we face when we try to detach from the global stage and become complacent in support of the military and its role in protecting our freedom.

In his new book, “Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine,” General David Petraeus references the inevitable cycle between war and peace and how a nation that drops its guard will ultimately face the challenges of an aggressor intent on disrupting the status quo.

These conflicts are generally unexpected but should not be. He quotes Paul Wolfowitz: “Surprise attacks happen so often that the surprising thing is that we are still surprised by them.”

The peaceful holiday season should not lead us to forget or ignore the dangers we are asked to reflect upon when we commemorated November 11, 1918, and the many who sacrificed from Wisconsin in that conflict and those who followed. We on the Board encourage you to make some time to tour your Wisconsin Veterans Museum. As you view the artifacts and read the stories stimulating you to remember our nation’s past, please take some time to reflect on our need to be vigilant in a dangerous world and the role that Wisconsin currently plays in contributing to the protection of our liberty and that of the free societies we support.

In gratitude,

WINTER 2023

Daniel Checki Foundation Board President

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Mark Your Calendar CEMETERY TOUR 2023 RECAP and THANK YOU

WISCONSIN VE TERANS MUSEUM

TALKING

SPIRITS

On March 29, 1973, the last American combat troops were withdrawn from Vietnam and Wisconsin was there in more ways than one. Fifty years later, the stories of Wisconsin’s Vietnam veterans remain an important piece of our state’s history and served as the theme for this year’s Talking Spirits: Forest Hill Cemetery Tours, which was our 25th year of producing this fantastic event.

The tours were held during the week of October 2 – 8 and brought in nearly 500 students from surrounding school districts. In addition, the Saturday Night candlelit tours and Sunday afternoon tours saw nearly 600 attendees come out to Madison’s beautiful Forest Hill Cemetery to learn about how the Vietnam War changed the lives of thousands of Wisconsinites for decades to come.

CEME TERY TOURS XXV

Vietnam: 50 Years Later

We’re already hard at work planning 2024’s program and if you didn’t get a chance to attend this year’s tours, you can experience the historical actors that portrayed veterans George E. Manuel and Richard Fischer, as well as Secretary of Defense Melvin Robert Laird Jr, and Annette Grunseth, sister of Vietnam veteran Peter Langlois, on our YouTube channel.

This project is supported by Dane County Arts with additional funds from the Edres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation Inc., charitable arm of the The Capital Times, the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation, and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation. In-kind support for the event volunteers and actors courtesy of Ian’s Pizza and the Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club.

JAN

16 FEB

9

22

TRIVIA NIGHT 7:00–8:00PM

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

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.

FEB

23 MAR

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MOVIE NIGHT 7:00–8:00PM

The Imitation Game (2014) Join us for a virtual discussion of the selected movie with the Wisconsin Veterans Museum staff.

TRIVIA NIGHT 7:00–8:00PM

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

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

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

Hansen, W. Lee McAllen, Kerry Behr, Denny & Joan Berry, Rick Complete Mobile Dentistry Hustad, William & Jackie Naleid, Richard Benson, Bonnie Bernards, Cathy & Donald Cesar Chavez Elementary Fonger, MAJ Linda & COL Michael Hagen, Scott & Natalie Harned, Lewis Held, Michael Johnson, Fred & Mary Kafka, Daniel Kennedy, Thomas Kloster, William & Deborah Rice Majka, Andrew & Roxanne Millsap, Nathaniel Nehls, Todd Olesen, Gerald Olson, Peter & Cheryl Owen, Paul Paulsen, Robert & Linda Rattenbury, Richard RSVP of Dane County Vets Helping Vets Storch, Marc & Beth Van Hise Elementary School VFW Post 06498 VFW Post 10272 VFW Post 11244 Vietnam Veterans of America Vilumsons, Aina Ace, Dennis American Legion Post 59

American Legion Post 111 American Legion Post 175 American Legion Post 282 Anderson, Jan Anderson, Rod & Jan Arawinko, David & Judith Argue, Brad Bachmann, Richard Baldwin, Michael Beckerleg, Karen & Steve Bergson, Paul & Brenda Bieniek, Brian Bird, John & Barbara Blau, Conrad Blessed Sacrament School Bryant, Mae Bublitz, James Bull, Ronald Burch, Leslie & Charles Burkart, Andrew Burns, Joseph Burton, Nancy Carlson, Jennifer Casey, Jr., John Chandre, John Cheney, Scott Clarendon Avenue Elementary Collins, Ted Michael Conkle, Chris Cubalchini, Bonnie Dallagrana, Wade & Christine Antonuzzo DeGuire, Frank Devitt, Linda & Patrick Drilling, Leo Duerr, Jerome Edgewood Campus School Eilbes, Paul Ely, Michael Evangelist, Virginia Flatley, Tim Fleury, Lori Ann Fuller, Robert Geddes, Donna Good Shepherd Post 1329

Grabowski, Ervin Greene, Dan Gruennert, Jim & Joann Haahr, Julianne Hanson, Sharla Harrison, Sharon Hauda, William Heiliger, Dan & Tarah Hemmer, Paul Heuer, LT COL (Ret) Martin Horton, Robert Hughes, Heather Isensee, Natalie Jordan, James Kampen, Sharon Ketterer, George & Mary King, John Kleinsteiber, Larry Klem, Bruce Krueger, Cal & Susie LaFarge High School Larkin, Bruce & Rose Laux, Daniel Leetz, Daniel Lemke, Ralph Lewein, Donna & Scott Ligocki, Clarence Lindstedt, John Martin, Michael & Gale Mawhinney, Gary McEvilly, Paul Miller, Ricky Montgomery, William Mueller, Tom Nowicki, Edward & Edith Nyberg, Edwin & Sally Nye, Jeanne O’Connor, Neil & Patricia Ogden, Chris & Jan Oleson, Nancy Olson, John & Marilyn Osborne, Jessica Osborne, William Parker, James Parpart, Erich Passante, Vicki & Tony Perisho, Ron Powers, Brian

Pribbernow, Charles Race, John Ridgely, Jr., COL (Ret) William Robbins, William & Chris Robinson, Susan Rogers, Sue Rohan, Mike & Denise Ronge, Robert & Sherri Royall Intermediate School Rueden, Henry Schlappi, Ed & Kathy Schroeder, John Schuette, Dan Seidel, Alice & Lee Severson, Dick Sharratt, Tom & Sharon Shullsburg High School Siegert, Marvin & Judy Smith, Ken & Linda Smith, Lanny & Margaret Sprague, Luke Sulman, David & Anne Altshuler Surprise, Tracy Szymoniak, Krzysztof Temme, Jenny Thorson, Thor & Alice Tillema, Dean Todd, Peter Van De Loop, John & Brenda VFW Post 05373 Wagner, Gregory Waller, Ellis Ward Decatur, Mary Ann Wartolec, Walter Weier, John & Anita Werve, George Winter, Donna Wold, Larry & Donna Wolf, Richard & Marjorie Wood, Janet Wren, Christopher Zwickel, Marjorie

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