Title: Ladies of the 32nd Division Veterans Assocation Records and Photographs
Inclusive Dates: 1950-2001

Creator:

• Ladies of the 32nd Division Veterans Assocation

Call Number: WVM Mss 926

Quantity: 2.4 linear ft. (1 archives box and 7 flat boxes) of papers and 1.2 linear ft. (3 archives boxes and 1 flat box) of photographs.

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:

Records of the Ladies of the 32nd Division Veterans Association, an auxiliary group composed of the wives and female blood relatives of veterans of the 32nd Infantry Division (later Brigade). The function of this organization, based largely in Wisconsin and Michigan, is to support the activities of the 32nd Division Veterans Association. Records include three historical scrapbooks that provide a great deal of information about the group, its functions, and its officers. Other administrative records include a list of charter members, president's reports, and reunion registers that list attendees. Two newspaper scrapbooks collected by the Ladies document the World War II service of the 32nd Division from basic training through fighting in the Pacific and a military ball program shows a social activity of the Wisconsin National Guard in which the Ladies could take part. Photographs include over 100 shots of various Ladies reunions from the 1950s through the 1990s. These pictures show members eating, dancing, installing officers, and socializing with each other and with men from the 32nd Division Veterans Association, who held their reunions at the same time. Other photographs show Ladies members who compiled a cook book, many of their group presidents, entertainer Joe E. Brown (who was a special guest at a reunion), the home of General Edwin F. Harding, and a ceremony at the Wisconsin National Guard military ball at which the newly formed 32nd Infantry Battalion inherited the honors of the 32nd Infantry Division.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss00926

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The Ladies of the 32nd Division Veterans Association is the official auxiliary organization formed to support the 32nd Division Veterans Association. While the latter formed almost immediately after World War I, the Ladies did not formally come into being until 1955. According to their constitution the purpose of the Ladies is “to foster and perpetuate the spirit of comradeship which has been the greatest single factor in the success of the Division and to perpetuate in act and deed by strong Americanism, the memory of their dead comrades, who by their supreme sacrifice have permitted them to return home in honor.”

Membership is restricted to the wives and blood relatives of 32nd Division veterans, though others could achieve associate membership status through petition. Because the 32nd Division was composed largely of Wisconsin and Michigan men, most of the members of the Ladies had ties to those two states, with annual conventions and reunions usually rotating between the two states.

The records of the Ladies of the 32nd Division Veterans Association are divided into two series, Records and Photographs.

Records (1950-2001) contains materials documenting the history of the organization from its founding through the beginning of the twenty-first century, including a list of charter members. Three historical scrapbooks provide a great deal of information about the group, its functions, and its officers. The first two scrapbooks were photocopied and dismantled due to their advanced state of deterioration. Relevant original materials from them can be found in the scrapbook materials folder. The original third scrapbook, in a much better state of preservation, was kept in the collection. Additional information about the organization's officers, particularly the presidents, can be found in this series including the years of their terms and often the name of their husband, who had to be a 32nd Division veteran. The president's reports and meeting agendas provide information about the aims and activities of the group, which generally consisted of supporting the men's organization and promoting patriotism. Reunion materials, including registers and guestbooks, reveal that the Ladies reunions were always tied to the men's and also give an idea of attendance numbers. Other materials in this series relate to the Wisconsin National Guard and were likely collected and maintained by the Ladies. Two newspaper scrapbooks document the role of the 32nd Division in World War II from basic training in Louisiana through service in the Pacific. Both scrapbooks were photocopied for preservation purposes; the originals are only available through prior arrangement with the reference archivist. A program and letter relate some information about the first annual Wisconsin National Guard military ball, a unique social activity.

Photographs (1953-1998) consist almost entirely of candid shots from over forty years worth of reunions. The reunion photographs show men (likely 32nd Division veterans) and Ladies eating and drinking, socializing, and dancing. There are photographs of the installation of officers, a reunion memorial service, and guest speakers. Some of the photographs are identified, often with first or last names only, but many are unidentified. Many of the photographs came out of the historical scrapbooks mentioned in the Records series; any identifying captions were transferred to the back of the photographs. There are also identified photographs of many prominent organizational leaders who helped produce a Ladies cookbook and bust shots of Ladies presidents. Other photographs relate to the men's organization and include shots of Joe E. Brown, a guest speaker at the 1951 reunion, some division memorials at cemeteries, a member's funeral, and a group trip to the home of General Edwin F. Harding, who led the 32nd Division during part of World War II. Two photos from the military ball show a ceremony in which the new 32nd Infantry Battalion inherited the honors of the 32nd Division.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Rita Szudzik, Grand Rapids, MI, 2003. Accession Number: Mss 2003.125. This collection was organized as a result of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission project grant (2003-075).

Processing Information

Processed by Russell Horton in 2005.

	Series: Records
	Subseries: Administrative records
Box   1 Folder   1	Charter members, circa 1955
Box   1 Folder   2	Executive board meeting agendas, 1967-1970
Box   1 Folder   3	Get well/sympathy card logbook, 1969-1974
Box   1 Folder   4	Obituaries, 1970-1979
Box   6 Folder   1	Oversized, 1962-1977
Box   1 Folder   5	Officers list, [1957-2001]
Box   2 Folder   1	President's scrapbook, 1955-1989
Box   1 Folder   6	Reports, 1986-1996
	Scrapbooks
Box   3 Folder   1	[Photocopy] , 1955-1965
Box   4 Folder   1-2	[Photocopy] , 1965-1984
Box   5 Folder   1	[Original] , 1977-1984
Box   1 Folder   7	Scrapbook materials, 1955-1971
Box   1 Folder   8	Reunions, [1950-1998]
Box   1 Folder   9	Newspaper clippings, 1963
Box   1 Folder   10-12	Registers/guestbooks, 1960-1999
Box   1 Folder   13	Wisconsin National Guard, undated
Box   1 Folder   14	Military ball, 1968
	Newspaper scrapbooks
Box   6 Folder   2	Training [Photocopy] , 1940
Box   7 Folder   1	[Original]
Box   6 Folder   3	World War II [Photocopy] , 1940-1945
Box   8 Folder   1	Original
Box   2 Folder   2	Oversized ephemeral items, 1961, undated
Box   1 Folder   15	Unit histories, 1942-1944
	Series: Photographs	⇧
	Subseries: Ladies of the 32nd Division Veterans Association
Box   9 Folder   1	Cook book authors, 1965 [7]
Box   9 Folder   2-9	Past presidents, 1955-1982 [43]
	Reunions (in chronological order)
Box   9 Folder   10-11	[7] , 1953
Box   9 Folder   12	[5] , 1955
Box   9 Folder   13	[3] , 1956
Box   9 Folder   14	[2] , 1957
Box   9 Folder   15	[1] , 1958
Box   9 Folder   16	[7] , 1959
Box   9 Folder   17-19	[12] , 1960
Box   9 Folder   20-22	[15] , 1961
Box   9 Folder   23	[7] , 1962
Box   9 Folder   24-25	[9] , 1963
Box   9 Folder   26	Guest speakers [4]
Box   9 Folder   27-28	[9] , 1964
Box   9 Folder   29-32	[19] , 1965
Box   9 Folder   33-34	[8] , 1966
Box   9 Folder   35	Installation of officers [3]
Box   9 Folder   36	[3] , 1968
Box   9 Folder   37	[1] , 1969
Box   9 Folder   38	[3] , 1970
Box   9 Folder   39-42	[24] , 1971
Box   14 Folder   1-2	[8] , 1972
Box   14 Folder   3	[3] , 1973
Box   14 Folder   4	[7] , 1974
Box   14 Folder   5	[7] , 1975
Box   14 Folder   6-9	[22] , 1976
Box   14 Folder   10-12	[16] , 1977
Box   14 Folder   13-14	Head table [9]
Box   14 Folder   15	Memorial service [2]
Box   14 Folder   16	Registration table [4]
Box   14 Folder   17-18	[12] , 1978
Box   14 Folder   19-21	[16] , 1979
Box   14 Folder   22	History room [6]
Box   14 Folder   23	[1] , 1983
Box   14 Folder   24-25	[8] , 1984
Box   14 Folder   26	[1] , 1987
Box   14 Folder   27	[2] , 1988
Box   14 Folder   28	[1] , 1990
Box   14 Folder   29-38	[48] , 1991
Box   14 Folder   39-42	[21] , 1992
Box   14 Folder   43	[5] , 1998
Box   11 Folder   1-10	[53] , Undated
Box   14 Folder   44	Scrapbook pages, 1955-1971
Box   15 Folder   11-12	32nd Division Veterans Association [9] , 1953-1957
Box   15 Folder   13	Joe E. Brown (reunion guest speaker) [1] , 1951
Box   15 Folder   14	Division memorials [2] , 1966, undated
Box   15 Folder   15	Memorial highway [2] , undated
Box   15 Folder   16	Military ball [2] , 1968
Box   15 Folder   17	Harold Morgan funeral [4] , 1979
Box   15 Folder   18	Parade [4] , undated
Box   15 Folder   19-20	Trip to General Harding's home [8] , 1975