Title: Mark Patronsky Papers and Still Images
Inclusive Dates: 1971-1972

Creator:

• Patronsky, Mark

Call Number: WVM Mss 1341

Quantity: 0.4 linear ft. (2 archives boxes) of papers, 0.8 linear ft. (2 archives boxes) of photographs, 0.8 linear ft. (4 negative boxes) of negatives. [3069 original images]

Repository:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Have questions? Contact the Reference Archivist

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Veterans Museum (Map)

See the catalog entry for current shelf locations and additions.

Abstract:

Papers and still images pertaining to the service of Mark Patronsky, a Madison, Wisconsin, resident who served with 1st Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery, and 2nd Battalion, 92nd Field Artillery during the Vietnam War era of the Cold War. He was drafted after graduating from college and was deployed with a nuclear-capable artillery unit in Germany. The bulk of the collection consists of quality black and white negatives, contact sheets, and photographs taken by Patronsky during his service. The images capture Patronsky's cynical view of army life and document recreational activities while stationed at Fort Hood (Texas) and River Barracks, Giessen, Germany. Military related images include shots of artillery pieces, military equipment, and soldiers during field exercises. Other images depict landscapes and base photographs and recreational activities. Additional images depict his basic training and induction, along with his college graduation and some anti-war protests at Indiana University. Of particular interest is a photograph set showing a Christmas display that utilized a tank for Santa's sleigh and an attack helicopter for Rudolph. Manuscripts include a typed memoir from Patronsky that recounts his experiences in the service and provides context to the still images. Ephemeral documents include his short timers calendar, training material, and various military-related items.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss01341

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

Mark Patronsky was born on August 15, 1948 in Columbus, Ohio. His family moved to Waukesha, Wisconsin when he was a child, then relocated to Indianapolis, Indiana when he was a teenager. Patronsky enrolled at the University of Indiana in 1966 and attended the school for two years before transferring to the University of Chicago. Concerns over being drafted after graduation led Patronsky to try and claim ineligibly, which included attempts not to graduate, claiming to be a conscientious objector, and being declared mentally incompetent. Those attempts failed and he was inducted in January 1971, and went for basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. After basic training, he was send to Fort Hood, Texas for artillery training with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery. Patronsky was eventually sent to Germany to serve in the fire direction center of the 2nd Battalion, 92nd Field Artillery, which was a nuclear-capable unit intended to hold back Soviet tank units in the event of an invasion. He served in Germany for a year, and was discharged in 1973. After his service, Patronsky obtained a law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and served as a Senior Staff Attorney for the Legislative Council of the Wisconsin State Legislature in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Mark Patronsky Collection is organized into two series: Papers and Still Images.

Papers (1971-2008) are primarily composed of memoir style notes composed by Patronksy based on his still images. The notes were originally created to provide descriptive information on contact sheets he made from envelopes of negative rolls in his collection, but also contain narrative information about his service. They were bound by the processing archivist to preserve the original non-chronological order of the negative sleeves. The notes provide detailed description of some of the images shown on the contact sheets, among detailed reminiscences and opinions on his military service, and also provide good insight into service during the Vietnam War era of the Cold War. For more views and reminiscences of Patronsky's military service, consult his oral history interview at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, OH 267. The book “The Ravens” is signed by two pilots who flew missions over Laos during the Vietnam War. The book was kept with the collection because of the importance of the signatures to Patronsky.

Still Images (1967-1972) pertain to his time in basic training, college, Fort Hood advanced training, and Germany deployment. Fort Hood images are grouped into images that generally reflect his training and time on base, and those recreational images of local towns they visited while on leave. All non-base related photographs in the Fort Hood section are located under recreation. Germany photographs are arranged in a similar manner, with the recreation grouping documenting his free time away from base. The majority of the images are artistic in nature. Patronsky admits in his notes that he considered himself an “artsy” photographer, and identifies quite a number of images being taken because he felt them to be artistic. However, there are good images of artillery training and the recreational activities of soldiers on base after hours. All contact sheets have the location of the corresponding negatives written on the reverse side. All details of the images come from the notes written by Patronsky. Basic training photographs also include a series of images that he took just before he was inducted. There are only a handful of images from basic training because he didn't feel comfortable taking a camera with him.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Mark Patronsky, 2002 and 2008. Accession Number: Mss2002.006 and Mss2008.243.

Processing Information

Processed by Andrew J. Baraniak, in 2009 and 2015.

	Series: Papers
Box   1 Folder   1	Army Memoirs and Photographic Notes, 2008
	Subseries: Military Ephemeral	⇧
Box   1 Folder   2	Code of Conduct Card, 1971
Box   1 Folder   3	Poster, 2nd Armored Division [Photocopy], 1971
Box   1 Folder   4	Prisoner of War Tags, 1972
Box   1 Folder   5	Short Time Calendar, 1972
Box   1 Folder   6	Training Material, 1971
Box   4	“The Ravens” signed book, 1997
	Series: Still Images	⇧
Box   2 Folder   1	Basic training [7] , 1971
Box   2 Folder   2	College [3] , 1967, 1969
	Subseries: Fort Hood	⇧
	Events on base
Box   2 Folder   3	Battalion Organization Day [11] , 1971
Box   2 Folder   4	Christmas display [5] , 1971
Box   2 Folder   5-10	Field Exercises [64] , 1971
	Locations on base
Box   2 Folder   11-13	Barracks [20] , 1971
Box   2 Folder   14	Battalion headquarters [4] , 1971
Box   2 Folder   15	Miscellaneous [10] , 1971
Box   2 Folder   16	Orderly Room [11] , 1971
Box   2 Folder   17	Woodshop [7] , 1971
	Recreation
Box   2 Folder   18	Austin [7] , 1971
Box   2 Folder   19	Caverns [5] , 1971
Box   2 Folder   20	Parade [7] , 1971
Box   2 Folder   21	Zikler Park [5] , 1971
Box   2 Folder   22	Georgetown [10] , 1971
Box   2 Folder   23-25	Killeen [10] , 1971
Box   2 Folder   26	Central Texas College [9] , 1971
Box   2 Folder   27	Road trips [14] , 1971
	Subseries: Germany	⇧
Box   3 Folder   1-3	Barracks [24] , 1972
Box   3 Folder   4	Field Exercises [8] , 1972
	Recreation
Box   3 Folder   5	Auto Racing, Hockenheim [4] 1972
Box   3 Folder   6	Drag racing, Hanau [5] 1972
Box   3 Folder   7	Frankfurt [3] , 1972
Box   3 Folder   8-10	Giessen [23] , 1972
Box   3 Folder   11	Fasching parade [5] , 1972
Box   3 Folder   12	Gleiberg Castle [4] , 1972
Box   3 Folder   13	Schiffenberg Monastery, 1972
Box   3 Folder   14	Soldier's family [4] , 1972
Box   3 Folder   15	Volksmarch [8] , 1972
Box   3 Folder   16	Grafenwoehr [5] , 1972
Box   3 Folder   17	Rail yard [6] , 1972
	Subseries: Other images	⇧
Box   3 Folder   18	Artistic photographs [5] , circa 1970
Box   3 Folder   19	Mark Patronsky [9] , 1970-1972