MADISON, Wis. — Tuesday marks the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
It's a day that has Wisconsin ties and 80 years later, it's still present in many people's minds. Wisconsinites played a role that day and their memories are being kept alive at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.
We’ve all seen the images of the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, but what about those who were there that day? Nearly 200 of those service members were from Wisconsin.
“Wisconsin was there," said Wisconsin Veterans Museum director, Chris Kolakowski. "Wisconsin was actually at war the first minutes of the Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941.”
Kolakowski, along with many others at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum are working to keep the memory of Wisconsinites alive from that day through the exhibits available at the museum.
“We had a woman from Manitowoc, Rhoda Ziesler who was there. She was on duty at the barracks in central Oahu at the post hospital,” Kolakowski said.
Rhoda Ziesler was a nurse who worked for 48 hours straight taking care of those who were injured from the attack. In the museum are artifacts of hers from her time in Hawaii.
“We’ve got the telegram she sent to her parents on Dec. 9 saying a real quick thing that she was well and safe,” Kolakowski said.
But one of the most detailed items of hers is a diary. It encompasses everything she went through first-hand. It's a direct account of what she experienced that day and the days that followed after.
In part of her diary she said, “Dear God, how could I ever forget the scene?”
Her diary also gave a first-hand account of what it was like to be a nurse taking care of service members on that historic day. It’s something the veterans museum is proud to put on display.
“It’s very important to keep this memory alive first of all. For us today to remove the legacy that we stand on of the shoulders of the generations before,” Kolakowski said.
They are able to share pieces that Wisconsinites have left behind from a day that continues to live in infamy, 80 years later.
