Photographs by William Wessa of Antigo documenting the 107th Trench Mortar Battery Company during World War I. The images include the company’s first drills in Antigo; training at Camp Douglas, Wisconsin and Camp McArthur, Texas; action in the Alsace region of France and the Argonne offensive; and their return to Antigo in 1919.
Veterans and Military History
Brekke Collection – A Soldier’s Mementos of WWII
This collection represents the things that Kermit Brekke of Blair, Wisconsin, saved as mementos of his service in World War II. It includes Brekke’s uniforms, souvenirs he collected in Europe, and a scrapbook of photos, telegrams, newspaper clippings, menus, leave passes, greeting cards and other ephemera.
Brown County War History Committee Records
After World War I ended in 1919, the Brown County War History Committee interviewed 1,721 local soldiers and their families about their wartime service. They collected a wealth of personal, family and military information, including hundreds of photographs and original letters. The collection is owned by the Neville Public Museum of Brown County and housed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Area Research Center.
Charles Nicholas Johnson Collection
Photographer and U.S. Army non-commissioned officer Charles Nicholas Johnson (1923-2005) was stationed in Tokyo from fall 1954 to September 1957. During this time he photographed color images that captured everyday life in Japan, urban scenes, landscapes, and representations of Japanese culture. The family of Charles Nicholas Johnson donated this collection of 260 slides to the UW-Parkside Archives in 2013.
Civil War Diary of Ruben Sweet
Ruben Sweet of Manitowoc, Wisconsin kept a diary of his experiences in the Civil War from November 1863-February 1865. The diary was transcribed by the Langlade County Historical Society in 2004.
Daniel Klapproth World War II Photographs and Letters
Daniel Klapproth was a soldier and a Somers, Wisconsin native who was stationed in Panama during the Second World War. This collection consists of photographs taken by Daniel during his military service, as well as letters written by Daniel to his mother in Wisconsin.
David A. Yates Photograph Collection
During WWII, the US Army’s Fort McCoy, in Monroe County, Wisconsin, served as a location to house German prisoners of war (POWs). David Yates was stationed at Fort McCoy during this time and managed to take photographs that now give insight into daily life for soldiers and POWs alike. This collection consists of over 100 black and white photographs that capture day-to-day activities and military personnel during WWII at a German POW camp located inside the United States.
Deleglise Documents
Letters written to family members by Francis Deleglise, founder of the city of Antigo, during his service with Wisconsin’s famed Iron Brigade during the Civil War. Letters describe training activities at Camp Randall and experiences at a field hospital while recovering from wounds inflicted at Gettysburg.
Eugene Walter Leach Collection
Papers of Walter Eugene Leach (1857-1938), curator of the Racine County Museum. Included are biographical materials on notable Racine residents and Leach’s writings on Racine County history, including chapters of his unpublished manuscript “The Story of Racine County, a History.” There are also records of the Racine Senate, 1844-1851, and the Racine Relief Association, 1883-1898.
Horace Seaman Wisconsin Infantry Collection
Photographs from Colonel Horace M. Seaman’s service with the Wisconsin National Guard. The majority of the images come from his service with the 4th Wisconsin Infantry in the Spanish-American War of 1898.
