The World War I Military Portrait Collection includes photographs of World War I
military personnel from Milwaukee County. The two main sources for these portraits
were the American War Mothers and the Milwaukee County Council of Defense. The
American War Mothers was formed during World War I. Any mother in Milwaukee County
could join the organization regardless of race or creed, the only requirement for
joining was having a son or daughter in service at that time. However, as not all
Milwaukee County mothers chose to join this organization, not all the soldiers from
Milwaukee County had mothers still alive at the time of their service, and not all
soldiers had mothers who were Milwaukee County residents, the information from the
American War Mothers should not be considered inclusive for all World War I military
personnel from Milwaukee County.
The Milwaukee County Council of Defense (MCCD) was formed in 1917. Within the
Department of Public Affairs of the MCCD, the Military Affairs Committee was
responsible for maintaining a casualty list and sending a gold star service
certificate to the families of those who died in the war. The Military Affairs
Committee requested the next of kin to fill out and return their Casualty Blank
World Conflict Information Obtained forms. Families were also requested to send
other information like copies of letters or photographs. These materials were then
collected by the War History Commission, which was created during the war as an
extension of the Council of Defense to preserve a record of the soldiers and their
experiences. The photographs acquired from these groups were later combined by the
Milwaukee Public Library to create this collection.
