Title: John C. Isermann Papers and Still Images
Inclusive Dates: 1917-1919

Creator:

• Isermann, John C.

Call Number: WVM Mss 1542

Quantity: 1.2 linear ft. (1 archives box, 3 flat boxes, 4 folders, 4 oversized folders, and 2 negative flaps), 547 black-and-white photographs, 3 scrapbooks, 2 negatives

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 John C. Isermann, a Kenosha, Wisconsin resident who served as a quartermaster on the U.S.S. Tuscarora in both the Coast Guard and the Navy during and after World War I. Papers mainly consist of three diaries kept by Isermann during his service. Diary entries describe the day-to-day life on the Tuscarora, weather, illnesses and other incidents. Included with the diaries is a condensed timeline of 1919, written later in his life. Other papers include postcards collected and sent to family, notes from Isermann's service, cartoons about the Coast Guard and Navy, a letter, the supply log from the Tuscarora, and a memorial of Isermann's service sent after his death. Oversized papers include the Roll of Honor for Isermann, which features a photograph and information about his service, newspapers about Superdreadnought ships, and articles about service in the war. Still images in this collection are almost all in three scrapbooks compiled by Isermann. Two scrapbooks contain images of the ship, sailors, docks and various ports with no identifying information. The third scrapbook contains unique images, plus images included in the other scrapbook, but with informational captions about the people in the images, locations, and happenings depicted. Loose images appear to have fallen out of these scrapbooks, and feature similar images, such as sailors, ships, shorelines, and scenery. Negatives appear to be of Camp Douglas, Wisconsin and do not have corresponding prints. Papers pertaining to his son, John Isermann, include a 1943 certificate for crossing into the Polar Circle.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.wvm-mss01542

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John Chester Aloysius Charles Isermann was born in 1898 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Isermann joined the Coast Guard and trained at Great Lakes in Illinois in 1917. The U.S.S. Tuscarora was commissioned for naval use once the United States entered World War I. After the war, the Tuscarora was assigned to tow in derelict vessels along the east coast and visit ports on a Victory Tour. For this Victory Tour, the Tuscarora towed a German U-Boat 88 to various ports so citizens could tour the Tuscarora and the German U-Boat. In 1919, Isermann was transferred to the U.S.S. Seminole and finished his service, returning to Kenosha, Wisconsin. Within a few months, he had met Marie Ratigan, with whom he fell in love, and married in 1923, as detailed in his diary. Isermann died in 1989 and is buried in the All Saints Mausoleum in Kenosha, Wisconsin. John C. Isermann's son, John Isermann, Jr., served in the United States Navy in World War II.

The John C. Isermann collection is organized into two series: Papers (1917-1989), and Still Images (1917-1919).

Papers (1917-1989) consist of cartoons commenting on life in the Coast Guard and Navy, envelopes collected by Isermann, scattered notes and ephemera, and postcards collected and sent by Isermann during his service. Of interest are his three diaries, kept by Isermann during his service, and a 1919 timeline. These daily entry logs contain information about life on board a ship, including watches, illnesses, leave time, inspections, and orders. Of interest is a series of entries between April 28 and August 15 1919 that pertain to Isermann's being charged with dereliction of duty for leaving his watch post when he became ill. Described is the board of examination and courts martial that follow, and frequent postulating on his punishment. The ship board court martial ends in a sentence of death by firing squad, which was turned over to the Navy for review. During this time, Isermann wonders where they will execute him, how it will feel, and what his family will hear about him. The sentence is overturned, and a recommendation of dishonorable discharge is also rejected. Isermann was honorably discharged later in 1919. Other papers include a supply log for the U.S.S. Tuscarora kept by Isermann in 1919. Oversized materials include newspapers featuring Superdreadnought U.S.S. New York (BB-34), and an article about non-combat service in World War I. Other oversized materials include a Roll of Honor for Isermann's service and a certificate for crossing the Polar Circle for Isermann, Jr.

Still images (1917-1919) are mostly kept in three scrapbooks compiled by Isermann. These scrapbooks document Isermann's time in the Navy, featuring action shots of the crew on deck, and sailors posing for photographs, and relaxing. Also included are images of bridges, shorelines, and oceans where the Tuscarora sailed, and ports the ship visited. The first two scrapbooks contain images with no explanations, while the third contains images with captions. A few of these images are duplicates of those in the first two scrapbooks. Images in the third scrapbook include photographs from a leave taken in Chicago, images of a friend's family, and of his own family in Kenosha with some of his friends. Scattered throughout are images of a small dog named Dixie. Other images include sailors cleaning the deck with a firehose, relaxing on deck, and posing with various civilians in port. Negatives in this collection appear not to have corresponding positives, and are possibly of Camp Douglas, Wisconsin.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Gail Isermann, 2011. Accession Number: Mss2011.224.

Processing Information

Processed by Brittany Strobel, in 2015.

	Series: Papers
Box   1 Folder   1	Cartoons, 1917-1919
Box   1 Folder   2-4	Diaries, 1917-1919
Box   1 Folder   5	Envelopes, 1917-1989
Box   1 Folder   6	Letter, 1919
Box   1 Folder   7	Memorial, 1989
Box   1 Folder   8	Notes and miscellaneous, 1917-1919
Box   1 Folder   9	Postcards, blank, 1917-1919
Box   1 Folder   10-11	Postcards, undated 1917-1919
Box   1 Folder   12	Timeline 1989, circa
Box   1 Folder   13	Tuscarora supply log, 1919
OvDw   5 Folder   13	Oversized [1] , 1917-1919, 1940, 1943
	Series: Still images	⇧
	Subseries: Scrapbooks
Box   2	One [134] , 1917-1919
Box   3	Two [134] , 1917-1919
Box   4	Three [134] , 1917-1919
Ph   7 Folder   25-26	Loose images [18] , 1917-1919
PhN   1 Folder   1-2	Negatives [2] , 1917-1919