Poplar Wisconsin produced one of the best fighter pilots in U.S. History. Richard Bong became known as the Ace of All Aces after he shot down 40 Japanese airplanes. While he cemented his place in history as an American hero, his life came to a tragic end shortly before the end of the war. Tune in to learn more about the history of Richard Bong.

Let us know what other Wisconsin Heroes we should cover! Contact us on ⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Twitter or send an email to badgerlandjournal@gmail.com

Sources:

“Bong Given Promotion; Now Major.” Leader-Telegram. April 15, 1944.

“Bong Hunts in South Dakota.” Leader-Telegram. January 20, 1945.

“Bong, Bride Honeymooning.” The La Crosse Tribune, February 12, 1945.

Clements, Olen W. “Maj. Bong Grounded Indefinitely; Wants to Keep up Combat Flying.” The La Crosse Tribune, April 15, 1944.

Lauritsen, John. “Explorers Find What They Believe Is Richard Bong’s Downed Plane in Jungle Ravine.” CBS News, May 24, 2024. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/explorers-find-what-they-believe-is-richard-bongs-downed-plane-in-jungle-ravine/.

“Leaving Bong Alone.” Monroe Evening Times, January 12, 1945.

“Maj. Bong Insurance Pay Cancelled Due to Jet Plane Flight.” The La Crosse Tribune, August 2, 1946.

“Major Bong Dies in Jet Plane Crash.” The La Crosse Tribune, August 7, 1945.

Malloryk. “Major Richard Bong’s Medal of Honor.” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, June 13, 2021. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/richard-bong-medal-of-honor.

“Marjorie Bong Is Wed in Hollywood.” Janesville Daily Gazette, October 31, 1946.

Miller, Jane. “Air Situation Changed.” Leader-Telegram. November 17, 1943.

“Mrs. Bong Given Many Job Offers.” Waukesha Daily Freeman, March 18, 1946.

“Richard Bong.” Richard Bong State Recreation Area. Accessed July 15, 2024. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/richardbong.

“Richard Ira Bong.” Wisconsin Historical Society, August 3, 2012. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS2324.

“Who Is Richard Bong?” Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center, May 28, 2024. https://bongcenter.org/about/who-is-major-richard-i-bong/.

The Shipwreck of the Trinidad was discovered by the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association last year and was recently placed on the Historic Register by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Today we are going to discuss the history Wisconsin's recently discovered shipwrecks.

Make sure to let us know your favorite Great Lakes shipwreck! Check us out on Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠, Twitter or send an email to badgerlandjournal@gmail.com

Sources:

Clough, Christopher. “This Lake Michigan ‘Time Capsule’ Shipwreck Is Now on the Wisconsin Historic Register.” Green Bay Press-Gazette, March 8, 2024. https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/door-co/2024/03/08/time-capsule-great-lakes-shipwreck-joins-wisconsin-historic-register/72888209007/.

Great Lake Shipwreck Research. “Wisconsin’s Newest Shipwreck Revealed - August 2023.” YouTube, September 1, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuBcog1W7jM.

Hernandez, Joe. “Shipwreck Hunters Discover a Schooner’s 142-Year-Old Remains in Lake Michigan.” NPR, September 4, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/09/04/1197480909/shipwreck-trinidad-found-lake-michigan-wisconsin.

Suliman, Adela. “Intact 1881 ‘Trinidad’ Shipwreck Found in Wisconsin Waters by Historians.” Washington Post, September 2, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/09/02/trinidad-schooner-shipwreck-maritime/.

“Trinidad.” Wisconsin Shipwrecks. Accessed May 27, 2024. https://wisconsinshipwrecks.org/Vessel/Details/617.

Mildred Fish-Harnack was the only American women to be executed on Hitler's direct orders. She was born in Milwaukee Wisconsin and was a professor at UW-Madison before moving to Germany with her husband Arvid Harnack. When the Nazis rose to power Mildred, Arvid and their friends began to work against the authoritarian government even though it would eventually cost them their lives. Tune in to learn more about this remarkably courageous women.

Let us know who your favorite guest has been on Facebook⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠, or send an email to badgerlandjournal@gmail.com

Sources:

Brysac, Shareen Blair. “When the Red Orchestra Fell Silent.” The New York Times, February 15, 2013. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/16/opinion/global/when-the-red-orchestra-fell-silent.html.

Cottrell, Chris. “American Resistance Member Is Honored in Berlin.” The New York Times, September 21, 2013. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/world/europe/american-resistance-member-is-honored-in-berlin.html.

Higgins, Jim. “Gripping Biography Details How Milwaukee’s Mildred Harnack Led Resistance to Hitler While Living in Berlin.” Journal Sentinel, September 2, 2021. https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/books/2021/08/18/book-details-how-milwaukees-mildred-harnack-led-resistance-hitler-biography/5559514001/.

“Mildred Fish-Harnack.” Wisconsin Women Making History, February 14, 2024. https://womeninwisconsin.org/profile/mildred-fish-harnack/.

“Mildred Fish-Harnack: Germany’s Secret Hero – Wisconsin Biographies.” PBS Wisconsin Education, May 6, 2024. https://pbswisconsineducation.org/bio/mildred-fish-harnack/.

Today's episode discusses the German-American identity of the Pabst Family. I am joined by Grace Mager as we discuss how the beer baron's family navigated both their German heritage as immigrants, as well as their love of their new home in Milwaukee.

Check out the Pabst Mansion website here

Let us know what you think of our podcast on ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, or send an email to badgerlandjournal@gmail.com

Sources:

“Brilliantly Wedded.” Milwaukee Sentinel. June 23, 1897.

“Eulogy of Capt. Pabst by Gen. F. C. Winkler. Milwaukee Journal. January 5, 1904. 9.

“Gambrinus in Glass.” Milwaukee Journal. April 21, 1893.

Kamphoefner, Walter D. Germans in America: A Concise History. Rowman & Littlefield, 2021.

“Many Honor Captain of Industry.” Milwaukee Journal. January 4, 1904. 3.

Miller, Carl. “The Rise of the Beer Barons.” BeerHistory.com. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/beerbarons.shtml.

Milwaukee Sentinel. June 20, 1897.

“Mrs. Nunnemacher Will Wed.” New York Times. March 29, 1902.

“Mrs. Pabst Passes Away.” Milwaukee Journal. October 4, 1906. 9.

“Old Pabst Mansion on Highland Faces.” Milwaukee Journal. May 10, 1970.

“Pabst Family Historical Letters Give Glimpse into WIS.. German Beer Roots.” ABC7 Chicago, March 2, 2021. https://abc7chicago.com/pabst-letters-milwuakee-wisconsin/10378226/.

“Social and Personal.” Milwaukee Journal. March 26, 1896. 2.

“The Germans in America.” Chronology : The Germans in America (European Reading Room, Library of Congress). Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.loc.gov/rr/european/imde/germchro.html.

Widen, Larry. “Frederick Pabst: Brewer, Banker, Empire Builder.” Shepherd Express, May 3, 2023. https://shepherdexpress.com/culture/milwaukee-history/frederick-pabst-brewer-banker-empire-builder/.

The state of Wisconsin has a large variety of geographic features. Much of the land has been influenced by the glaciers when they melted over 17,000 years ago. Today's podcast will cover some of the most well-known features such as the driftless area, the Kettle Moraine, the Niagara escarpment, ancient coral reefs, and the sub-continental divide.

A listener suggested today's episode! You can suggest the next episode by contacting us!

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Resources:

“About the Escarpment.” Niagara Escarpment Foundation , February 5, 2021. https://nefoundation.ca/about-the-escarpment/.

Bence, Susan. “Did You Know There’s an Ancient Coral Reef in Wauwatosa?” WUWM 89.7 FM - Milwaukee’s NPR, July 6, 2020. https://www.wuwm.com/environment/2016-05-27/did-you-know-theres-an-ancient-coral-reef-in-wauwatosa.

“Driftless Area.” Wisconsin Historical Society, August 3, 2012. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS1626.

Hayes, Paul G. “Subcontinental Divide.” Encyclopedia of Milwaukee, April 16, 2020. https://emke.uwm.edu/entry/subcontinental-divide/.

“History | Kettle Moraine State Forest.” Wisconsin DNR. Accessed December 25, 2023. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/kmn/history.

“Niagara Escarpment.” Destination Door County. Accessed December 25, 2023. https://www.doorcounty.com/experience/scenic-attractions/niagara-escarpment.

“The Niagara Escarpment: Wisconsin’s Eighth Natural Wonder.” OnMilwaukee, September 30, 2011. https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/niagaraescarpment.

“The Physical Geography of Wisconsin.” Wisconsin Historical Society, August 3, 2012. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS387.

Unknown, Nicole. “Few People Know These Prehistoric Reefs in Wisconsin Are Hundreds of Millions of Years Old.” OnlyInYourState, March 10, 2018. https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/wisconsin/wi-prehistoric-reefs/.

One of my fellow graduate students Jesse Marshall took some time out of his busy schedule at St. Augustine Prep here in Milwaukee to join the episode today. His research focuses largely on the experience of German Americans in the United States. Much of his research looks at Milwaukee Wisconsin because of its high German-American population. We discuss how the German-American experience has changed and adapted in Milwaukee and the United States beginning from the country's inception to the modern day.

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Today Dr. Christopher Cantwell of Loyola University Chicago joins us to discuss his project Gathering Places which looks at the history of religious places in Milwaukee. He talks about how the project was started when he was teaching at UW-Milwaukee. In addition, we discuss the significance of the project and what the future holds for this digital archive. Click the link to check out The Gathering Places. If you'd like to know more about Dr. Cantwell's research and projects click here.

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Dr. Michael Oberg of SUNY Geneseo the Author of Professional Indian: The American Odyssey of Eleazer Williams was kind enough to join the podcast and discuss his book. He has spent hours understanding the mind of Williams and has intriguing insights into the complex man. We discuss Williams's faith, his flaws, and his legacy in both Wisconsin and New York. Williams spent his life attempting to get ahead, and in the end, was left with very little. The podcast attempt to understand his motivations, and his importance today.

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