For over 150 years, Milwaukee has been home to a large community of people of Polish descent. The Milwaukee Polonia Project hopes to show the interweaving, intertwining family trees that resulted in this community. It is hoped that, eventually, all the families can be connected to one another. The Milwaukee Polonia Project is also a means to explore our common history and celebrate our shared heritage.

THE ACTUAL DATABASE OF THE TREE IS NOW LOCATED AT THE MILWAUKEE POLONIA PROJECT TREE at Tribal Pages. (We still have much work to do, so don't assume that families are shown completely.) YOU DO NOT NEED A PASSWORD TO ACCESS INFORMATION ON DECEASED INDIVIDUALS.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Honoring Our Heroes - Memorial Day 2015

As is our custom, we set aside Memorial Day to remember some of those individuals from our community who lost their lives while in service.


Raymond Bush, Jr. (@1923 - 1945) – The only child of Raymond Bush, Sr. and Elizabeth (Rosinski) Bush. He was a Technician Fifth Class in the 70th Infantry Division, 276th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, I Company. He and several of the men in his same company were killed in action on February 18, 1945. From this information, it appears that he died in the attack on Saarbrucken.
 
John Talkowski  photo courtesy of  Grace Janusz
 

 John Talkowski  (1914 1945) -  The son of Stanley Talkowski and Rose (Zygarlicki) Talkowski.  He grew up in Walworth County.  He entered service in Milwaukee on April 16, 1941, before America had joined the War.  He rose to the rank of Technician Fourth Class, in the 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. (The same division as Gerard Paradowski, Featured Profile #42.)  He was wounded while fighting in New Guinea and eventually died of his wounds on April 14, 1945.  He is buried in the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

John Talkowski in New Guinea. Photo
courtesy of Grace Janusz.

Frank Wojciechowski (1893 -1918) - The son of John Wojciechowski and Antonina (Kuich) Wojciechowski.  He entered the service on November 22, 1917 at Camp Custer at the relatively old age (for soldiering) of 24.  Prior to that time, he had been a bartender for Frank Konwinski. [The records state the name of his employer to be "Kononinwinski", but it is assumed that the reference is to his brother-in-law, Frank Konwinski, or a relative of his brother-in-law.] He was originally a member of the 340th Machine Gun Battalion, 85th Infantry Division.  Although this unit was in France, it never saw action.  It appears that, at some point, Frank Wojciechowski transferred to the 39th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division where he was a Private, First Class.  He was wounded in the Argonne Offensive and died of his wounds on October 18, 1918.

Elmer Wojciechowski
originally published in Milwaukee
Journal, March 30, 1946
 
Elmer A. Wojciechowski (1922 - 1945) - The son of Joseph Wojciechowski and Lottie (Trempala) Wojciechowski, he was a nephew of the Frank Wojciechowski listed above.  He enlisted in the army on December 1, 1942. He rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant in the 302nd Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division.  Originally listed as missing in action, it was latter confirmed that he had been killed in action on February 19, 1945 in the assault of the Siegfried Line at Munzingen Ridge.  He is buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery, Neupre, Belgium.

Rest in peace.