The papers of Matthias J. Lynaugh are divided into three series: Veterans Organizations, World War II Homefront, and Photographs.
Veterans Organizations (1915-1990) consists of materials documenting the organization and functions of many different veteran groups, ranging in size from local to national. A majority of the material does not relate directly to Lynaugh, but rather are materials he collected through his membership. The Old Company G Veteran Association consisted of members of Company G, 127th Infantry from World War I, who were largely residents of the Madison and Beloit areas. The group was founded in 1936 and held regular reunions. This series contains administrative and financial records for the group, as well as reunion announcements, correspondence, and some ephemeral items from World War I that the group kept. Similar records from the American Legion and La Societe des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux, also known as the 40 et 8, are also in this collection from the national, state, and local level. Lynaugh was a prominent member in local posts of both organizations. His role on the graves registration committee of the William B. Cairns Post 57 (American Legion) is documented through lists of veterans buried in Madison-area cemeteries and maps of several, including Forest Hill Cemetery. The membership records and reports from Voiture Locale No. 683 (40 et 8) in Dane County are particularly comprehensive from the 1920s through the 1940s. Materials from the Red Arrow Club of Dane County, the Thirty-second Division Veterans Association, and Veterans of World War I, and other organizations round out the series.
World War II Home Front (1936-1987) contains materials largely relating to Lynaugh's life during the World War II era. His role in the University of Wisconsin's Civil Defense group is documented through official correspondence, schedules, and a map. Madison Memorial Day programs and materials relating to planning a Madison War Memorial begin in the war era and show Lynaugh's continued interest in local recognition of veterans. His volunteer service at the Middleton Veterans Hospital is shown through log sheets and other materials. Political fliers relating to the 1940 presidential election suggest that many veterans supported Wendell Willkie, a World War I veteran, over Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Photographs (circa 1917-1948) are almost entirely unidentified, though clues from the pictures often suggest at least a partial identity. The first subseries contains shots from the veterans organizations to which Lynaugh belonged. An undated American Legion parade is very well documented through photographs of the floats and parade participants. Other photographs seem to be from the Old Company G Veterans Association and show unidentified members posing individually and in groups. There are some photographs from their pre-war training that the group maintained. A second subseries contains unidentified photographs of soldiers and places in Europe during World War I. There are several shots of ship life as soldiers sailed to Europe, many postcards showing cemeteries and battlefield corpses, and many unknown soldiers, both in groups and individually. The research and informational value of these photographs is negatively affected by their lack of identification.
