This file part of www.watertownhistory.org website
Watertown Rifle Company
Wisconsin National Guard
1851
In May of 1851 Watertown's first
active unit was formed as the Watertown Rifle Company. These men were farmers, merchants, small
business owners who bonded together.
1928
The Watertown unit of the
Wisconsin National Guard was housed in Turner Hall
at the time of the 1928 fire that destroyed the building.
1936
02 18 Troop K, local unit of the 105th cavalry of the
Wisconsin National Guard, will assist the sick and injured and those in need of
food and fuel in isolated places in every manner possible, Major J. W. Sproesser stated today upon receiving a message from
Adjutant General Ralph Immell that all national guard
units in Wisconsin have been asked to aid in every manner possible. Major Sproesser announced this
morning that the local cavalry unit would organize for the emergency work this
evening at the troop rooms at the Turner Hall.
WDT
1955 New Armory
07 27 Watertown's new Armory, home of Company M of the Wisconsin
National Guard, will be dedicated at public ceremonies Sunday afternoon. Col.
Milton F. Ziebel, regimental commander of the 426th
Infantry, Lt. William Dittmann, commanding officer of
Company M, City Manager Dean Van Ness, Col. J. W. Sproesser
and Capt. George Iwen will speak at the
ceremonies. Members of the old 105th Cavalry Band will reunite for a concert
during the afternoon program which will run from 2 to 5 o'clock. Weapons will
be on display and members of Company M will serve as guides. There will be a dance in the evening. The
Armory is located on highway 26 near the south city limits. WDT
1955
Click on image
Company M of the Wisconsin National Guard
1956
10 23 Clem H. Schoechert, Watertown, yesterday was elected president of
the association of former members of old Troop K and the 105th Cavalry Band of
the National Guard which held its second annual reunion at the Armory here. The
reunion was well attended. Lorenz Wesemann was named
vice president and Conrad Ott secretary. Treasurer is
Chester J. McGuire. A board of directors is still to be appointed. WDT
1959
07 21 Municipal Band
concert dedicated to the 105th Cavalry WDT
1961
09 15 Two National
Guard divisions, the 32nd Infantry Division of Wisconsin and the 49th Armored of
Texas, are being called to active duty, it was learned today. Watertown’s Company C is a unit of the
guard. Defense Secretary Robert S.
McNamara issued the formal announcement at a news conference. Maj. Gen. Herbert
Smith, commander of the 32nd National Guard “Red Arrow” division,
said the unit will begin assembling Oct. 15 and “I don’t know exactly when
we’ll start rolling.” He said the division will train at Fort Lewis, Wash. WASHINGTON (UPI) —
1979
01 27 It's a new National Guard with new
opportunities and benefits WDT
1985
03 04 Watertown's National Guard unit will be training in Europe
during early 1986, the Department of the Army has announced. The department announced earlier that the
32nd Infantry Brigade would be training in Europe, and this latest announcement
includes several other separate units of which Watertown's is a part. The latest announcement significantly
increases the size of the guard force scheduled to train in Europe. The brigade
alone was the largest single guard unit to deploy in Europe in recent times. WDT
1992
07 11 Role changed to foot
soldiers WDT
1996
10 26 Company E
will be united at the Watertown Armory under a reorganizational plan recently
announced by the Wisconsin National Guard. The company, part of the 2nd
Battalion, 127th Infantry, will no longer be split between the two cities.
Instead, the Appleton detachment will be absorbed into the Watertown unit, consolidating
Company E in Watertown. “It will get more cohesion with the unit,” said Sgt.
1st Class Craig Thayer, who is one of three full-time personnel stationed at
the Watertown Armory. With the consolidation, about 85 guard members will be
stationed at Watertown. Previously, about 35 people were assigned to the
Watertown Armory. WDT
1998
11 20 Turner Hall served as the Armory for the Wisconsin National Guard
in Watertown. There have been at least three buildings in Watertown that have
served as an Armory for the Wisconsin National Guard. The current Armory, built in 1954, is the only one of the three that has served solely as a
dedicated Armory for the Wisconsin National Guard. The other two buildings were owned and
operated by the Turners which allowed the
Watertown National Guard unit to conduct its part-time drills there. The third building
was part Watertown school system and the building was torn down a number of
years ago and a hotel now occupies the site.
WDT
2000
07 24 Company E, 2/127th Infantry, of the National Guard
unit located in Watertown, held its annual training at Gowen
Field, Idaho. Company E is the anti-armor unit of the
2/127th Infantry of the 32nd “Red Arrow” Mechanized Infantry Brigade. Gowen Field is an
Idaho Army and Air National Guard base located on the south end of Boise in the
southwestern corner of Idaho. The majority
of the tactical training took place in the Orchard Training Area, which is a
vast expanse of high-desert wilderness about 15 miles south of Gowen Field. WDT
12 11 Soldiers
from the Watertown-based unit of the Wisconsin National Guard faced protesters
in the late afternoon snow Saturday as part of a training exercise in
conjunction with the State Patrol. Civil
disturbance was the topic of Saturday's training mission, which culminated with
a simulated situation in which the Guard faced volunteers who acted as an
unruly crowd. Dressed in riot gear, the
guardsmen advanced and put into practice the day's lessons. Capt. Mike Hanson, commander of the National
Guard's Company E, 2nd Battalion, 127th infantry, said the exercise honed
skills the soldiers could be called upon to use. Hanson, who is employed as a state trooper,
said the joint training between the Guard and State Patrol helped closely
mirror how the two entities would work together in an actual incident. WDT
2001
02 23 Company
E, 2/127th Infantry held its February drill weekend at its armory in Watertown.
Company E is the anti-armor unit of the 2/127th Infantry of the 32nd Red Arrow
Mechanized Infantry Brigade The primary
focus for the weekend's training was the completion of the gunner's skill test
(GST). The gunner's skill test consists
of the 18 most important individual tasks for the anti-armor soldiers in
Company E. The first half of the test
was completed during the January drill.
The second half was completed last weekend. WDT
2009
02 18 A community send-off ceremony for local
troops scheduled to be deployed to Iraq.
WDT
