Veteran

Veteran’s Memorial of Shawano’s World War 1

Perhaps few of you know or remember this day as it was set back on April 28, 1922, Arbor Day. Here is a reminder of what people in our County should know about our Veteran’s who lost their lives so we might have the freedoms we do now.

On this day a ceremony was performed by the American Legion, the families of the fallen, high school students, and townspeople who gathered to honor the deceased Veteran’s by planting a tree for each one that lost his life. This was done at the location where Franklin School once stood. Some of those trees are still there to remind us.

Five Maple trees for the high school boys were planted on the school grounds. The high school boys who gave their lives in the Great War were as follows; William Wallrich, Joe Alft, Edwin Elefson, Edgar Schenk and Walter Zieglebauer.

Twenty three Elm trees for members of Company F were planted on the curbing in front of the school house grounds and one tree in memory for all of the boys from Shawano County who fell in France was planted in the school house yard.

The fallen members of Company F were; Leonard Besaw, Peter Frankovick, Emil Tiegs, Charles Robinson, Louis Mangold, Ottis Evans, Michael Brunner, Joseph Goree, Edward Salzer, Harry Huntington, Lyle Davenport, Payne Drake, Frederick Kapanke, Herman Schwenkner, Mortiz Weigel, Guy George, Emil Zueske, Robert Luecke, Edwin Austin, Alfred Gross, Charles Skaeski, George Frank and James Gowan.

The people stood at attention facing the east for one minute while taps was sounded. After this came the planting of the trees. The first shovelful of earth in each instance was by some relative of the departed soldier for whom the trees were planted.

“May all of the trees grow and be a living memory of the boys who have gone on before.”

On May 29, 1926, another gathering was set at the Franklin school grounds, this time to dedicate the bronze plaque set in a huge boulder of Wisconsin Red Granite, naming the soldiers for whom the trees were planted. This boulder was placed on the southwest corner of the school property at Franklin and Presbyterian Street.

Today the plaque is moved to Woodlawn Cemetery, but what can we say about the living memory of the trees planted in each soldier’s name? Perhaps this land should become a Veteran’s Memorial Park for Shawano County. I believe the people who planted the trees thought that we would always remember, but have we?