Group portrait of forty-seven men and officers of Company E, 1st Infantry Regiment of the Wisconsin State Guard posing in September, 1942 in front of an American flag that hangs on a brick wall, probably in the New Armory in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Not to be confused with Manitowoc's Company E of the 127th National Guard Infantry, these men wear distinctive uniforms and garrison caps with the circular Wisconsin State Guard patch that depicted a red badger with the letters "Wis. S.G." in blue. The State Guard was a temporary military force implemented under provisions of Wisconsin state statutes. First created in 1917 and disbanded in 1920, a State Guard of 2,400 men was again organized in 1941 following the federalization of the Wisconsin National Guard in October, 1940. The State Guard during World War II consisted of three infantry regiments with a total of 37 companies, of which this Manitowoc unit was one. Uniforms were furnished by the state and rifles and ammunition by the federal government. State Guard units were given an intensive course in home defense, with the idea that they could be called on to guard key installations, help maintain order, and assist in emergencies or disasters. For example, Company E was called out on Christmas Eve in 1941 after receiving a warning from the Chicago Ordnance District regarding "definite acts of sabotage" planned for the Manitowoc area on Christmas Day. (Nothing happened.) The State Guard was disbanded again when the National Guard was reactivated in 1946 after World War II had ended.
Most of the men in Company E were Manitowoc residents. Identified in this picture: first row, left to right, Sgt. Ernest Hornes, Sgt. Sereno Hansen, Sgt. Emil Madson, First Sgt. Joseph A. Beerntsen, First Lt. M.H. DeWein, Capt. Roland Drumm, Second Lt. Walter Hendries, Cpl. Gus C. Youngwall, Richard L. Ronsman, Sgt. Elmer Cegielski, Sgt. Joseph J. Contney.
Second row, left to right: Sgt. George Stephani, Otto J. Lohse, Clarence Brunner, Theodore Tadych, William Strege, Nick Bonde, George Denk, Bub Cavanaugh, Rudy Plocar, Bert Helwich, F.H. Schroeder, Emil Plautz.
Third row, left to right: Edwin J. Mrotek, Clarence P. Carbon, Carl Meyers, Erwin E. Dubey, Joseph M. Chizek, J. Victor Granger, Louis J. Polivka, Alvin Bailey, Frank Kloida, Paul Sammon, Leonard Markoski, Charles Grall.
Fourth row, left to right: Russell Hansen, Robert Johnson, Sgt. Harry Stryzewski, Louis Wagner, George Benzschawel, Austin Jorgenson, Gordon Kohlbeck, R.L. Heim, Frank Pilger, Fay L. Barnes, Victor J. Schafer, Elmer Gulseth.
Other members not in this picture were: Capt. George M. Hoffman, Lt. Elmer W. Neubert, Sgt. Anton Wergin, Sgt. Bert Zangerle, John Cloutier, Henry J. Hebert, Raphael L. Heim, George F. Herzog, Reinhold J. Kuehnl, and Julius Lucroff.