Summary Information
Chester H. Budish Papers and Photographs
1941-1952
WVM Mss 545
0.2 linear ft. (1 archives box) of papers and 0.2 linear ft. (1 archives box) of photographs.
Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)
Papers and photographs of Chester H. Budish, an airplane mechanic and artilleryman during World War II. The collection includes scattered correspondence between Budish and his family in which he received news from home while passing on censored descriptions of his stateside training and service in North Africa and Europe. Also found are letters from an English woman Budish met while stationed in England, who he continued to correspond with after the war. A large number of picture postcards collected while in the service highlight the ephemeral items. A separation record and other personal service records fill out the details of his time in the military. Ephemeral items include the patient identification tag he wore while being removed from the frontlines, a piece of German propaganda, and an Italian safe conduct pass. Photographs include many candid shots taken while training stateside and during his lengthy recuperation from injuries received in the line of duty.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss00545 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Chester Herman Budish was born August 19, 1919 in Lorain, Ohio. His family moved to the Milwaukee area while he was young, and he attended local schools. He was inducted into military service on January 6, 1942 at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He received basic training at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, and attended Airplane Mechanic School at the Rising Sun School of Aeronautics in Philadelphia in 1942.
Sent to North Africa in January 1943, Budish was transferred to Battery A, 62nd Armored Field Artillery Battalion. He saw action in Tunisia and participated in the invasion of Sicily with General George S. Patton's army. Transferred to England, he also took part in the D-Day invasion at Normandy, hitting Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. From there his unit battled through France, Holland, and Belgium.
On November 19, 1944 Budish was part of a crew firing 105 mm shells at nearby German tanks. One of their shells hit a nearby tree and exploded, injuring Budish and two other members of the crew. Budish began a journey through American hospitals, traveling from France and England to stateside military hospitals in New York, Michigan, and Illinois seeking treatment for the severe shrapnel injuries on his leg.
He received an honorable discharge due to disability on May 8, 1946 and returned to the Milwaukee area. He met and married his wife, Marilyn, on April 27, 1957. He worked various jobs before retiring in 1984. Budish passed away on February 14, 2001.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Chester H. Budish are divided into two series: Papers and Photographs.
Papers (1941-1952) contains materials relating to Budish's service during World War II and his rehabilitation from wounds received in the line of duty. The correspondence consists of scattered letters that Budish sent and received during his service. Conscious of censors, he did not go into detail about his movements during the war; instead he focused on recreational activities and questions about home. His family wrote him about the homefront, with stories about school for his siblings and work for his parents. Budish made the acquaintance of an English woman, C. Bannard, while stationed there in 1944, and she wrote him several letters during and after the war. Dubbing him as her adopted American boy, she described conditions in England and expressed hopes that he would remain safe. Other papers are largely ephemeral, including postcards that Budish collected during his wartime travels. The biographical data and personal service records provide some details about his service.
Photographs (1942-1945) document Budish's time in the military from his training through his recovery in the hospital. Candids from training at Fort Sheridan, Jefferson Barracks, and Rising Sun School show his early training in aircraft repair, as well as some recreational activities like sightseeing. The candids from Europe include a couple of shots from a landing at Normandy, as well as pictures of Budish in his new role as artilleryman. Finally, photographs taken at Mayo General Hospital document his recovery from surgery at the end of the war.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Marilyn Budish, Oak Creek, WI, 2002. Accession Number: Mss2002.68. This collection was organized as a result of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission project grant (2003-075).
Processed by Russell Horton in 2004.
Contents List
|
Series: Papers
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
1
|
Biographical data, undated
|
|
|
Subseries: Correspondence
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
2
|
From Chester Budish, undated
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
3
|
To Budish family, 1942-1944
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
4
|
To Chester Budish, 1942-1945
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
5
|
From C. Bannard (English pen pal), 1944-1952
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
6
|
From Budish family, 1943-1944
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
7
|
Ephemera, undated
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
8
|
England travel brochures
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
9
|
German propaganda, 1945
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
10
|
Italian safe conduct pass, circa 1945
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
11
|
Menu, 1942
|
|
|
Postcards
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
12
|
Annotated, undated
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
13
|
Captured German, 1944
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
14
|
Constantine (Algeria), undated
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
15
|
England, undated
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
16
|
Europe, undated
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
17
|
North Africa, undated
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
18
|
Palermo (Italy), undated
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
19
|
U.S.A., undated
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
20
|
Personal service records, 1945-1946
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
21
|
Diploma, Army Air Corps Technical School, 1942
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
22
|
Draft notification card, 1941
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
23
|
Patient identification tag, 1944
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
24
|
Physical training cards, 1942
|
|
|
Series: Photographs
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
1
|
Chester Budish [3] , undated
|
|
|
Subseries: Candids
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
2-6
|
Europe [31] , 1943-1944
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
7
|
Fort Sheridan (Illinois) [4] , 1942
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
8
|
Group shots [5] , 1942-1943
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
9-15
|
Jefferson Barracks (Missouri) [41] , 1942
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
16-18
|
Mayo General Hospital (Illinois) [16] , 1945
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
19-20
|
Rising Sun School (Pennsylvania) [11] , 1942
|
|
|
