Wisconsin

Long before Japanese bombs rained down on Pearl Harbor, Milwaukee was the "Machine Shop to the World." Thanks to the city's large industrial base, factories quickly retooled and mobilized for wartime production. Harley-Davidson produced thousands of military motorbikes, and Falk Corporation churned out gears that turned the propellers on hundreds of ships. Locals sacrificed their lives for the cause--Mayor Carl Zeidler went missing at sea, USS Arizona captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh refused to leave the bridge of his burning battleship and Mildred Harnack joined the Nazi resistance movement and was executed on direct orders from Hitler. Embedded with German and American troops, Milwaukee journalists H.V. Kaltenborn, Louis Lochner and Dickey Chapelle sent dispatches from the front lines. Through past interviews and archival materials, author Meg Jones reveals these and other patriotic stories.

From the days of the horse-drawn caisson to today's Humvee, Fort McCoy has played a vital role in the military readiness of America's armed forces. The only federal military installation within the state of Wisconsin, Fort McCoy has seen more than five million military personnel from throughout the United States pass through its gates since its founding in 1909. Fort McCoy exists today primarily because its founder, Maj. Gen. Robert B. McCoy, foresaw that the U.S. Army would need a regional site at which to train and maneuver and then dedicated himself to making that vision a reality. Fort McCoy's mission of supporting training and mobilization has remained constant from those early days on the McCoy ranch to the current global War on Terror. This book chronicles the illustrious history of Fort McCoy from the doughboys of World War I to today's soldiers supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

As the Cold War gripped the world with fear of espionage and nuclear winter, everyday Wisconsinites found themselves embroiled in the struggle. For decades, the state's nuclear missiles pointed to the skies, awaiting Soviet bombers. Joseph Stalin's daughter sought refuge in the small town of Richland Center. With violence in Vietnam about to peak, a cargo ship from Kewaunee sparked a new international incident with North Korea. Manitowoc was ground zero for a Sputnik satellite crash, and four ordinary Madison youths landed on the FBI's most wanted list after the Sterling Hall Bombing. Local author and chairman of the Midwest Chapter of the Cold War Museum Chris Sturdevant shares the tales of the Badger State's role in this titanic showdown between East and West.

Images of America: Wisconsin Army National Guard is a photographic history containing more than 200 images paired with a descriptive narrative that follows the illustrious story of more than 150 years of wartime service. The book highlights little-known facts about the leaders, soldiers, and units that shaped Wisconsin's military history. It begins with the Civil War legends of Old Abe and the Iron Brigade and continues through the transformational years of the National Guard during the Spanish-American War and Mexican border crisis of the 1910s. It chronicles the unbelievable sacrifices of the 32nd Red Arrow Division during both world wars and recounts the role played by Wisconsin units in the more recent War on Terror. Both historians and general readers of history will value this guide as an enjoyable and enlightening resource.