I have always loved local military history and living in Sparta, Wi. there is plenty of it. The local National Guard unit from town was “L” Company, 3rd Wisconsin Infantry prior to being federalized for WWI. The unit served on the Mexican border and then was federalized and went to France. Their unit designation was changed to “L” Company 128th Infantry and they were now a part of the famous 32nd (Red Arrow) Division.
Military Antiques Extravaganza
In September, I was at the “MAX” show in York, PA. when the vendor across the aisle started to put away a WWI uniform. I noticed that it had a 32nd Division patch and asked him if I could look at it. I told him that it came from “my neck of the woods!” Clearly it did. The collar disc denoted the unit as “L” Company 128th Inf which came from Sparta!!! I purchased it from him and brought it back to Sparta. I found initials in the neck and wondered if I could find out who it was. The local history room helped with a roster of the unit. There were 2 guys with E.M. initials, though there’s only 1 that was a corporal!! I might have found the guy, Earl M. McPeak. More research is needed but there are still relatives of his in the area.
WW1 Military Memorabilia
The hat came with the uniform as well as a pair of trousers. The hat carries the pre-WWI national Guard collar disc from Wisconsin, which was popular to do when units became federalized. Feel free to contact us about our military collection! We specialize in World War I, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War eras but we also love the history behind military collectibles from other eras too. At Military Collectors Services, we are continuously finding new items to add to our military collection and take great care in searching for the perfect home for these items.
