They kept everything.

Photos from Grandma site

My Grandparents kept everything, and it all ended up in my lap. This collection of stuff ranged from the cool (WWII V-Mail from my Uncle Frank) to the "you've got to be kidding me" (receipts from a trip taken in the 50s). I've weeded out a lot of the nonsense and kept the more interesting (at least what was interesting to me). In turn I decided to create this site to not only post some items, but also as a research exercise. Most items are from Chicago and Detroit, but of course family trips expanded their reach of hoarding. I hope you enjoy this very random collection. Frank Kownacki

theme by Robin Wragg

9:30am 28th February 2011

In honor of the passing of the last US WWI veteran this past Sunday, I’m posting a photo of the dog tags and trench lighter of my Great Grand Uncle Alex Kownacki. He was from Milwaukee and had been a member of the 127^th Infantry – Wisconsin National Guard. I found his draft record a few years ago, but hadn’t been able to find anything else about his life. Then my father found a listing that had him killed in action on September 7^th, 1918 in Cierges, France. This would explain how only one of his dog tags made it down through the family. Later, I was able to locate the cemetery in Milwaukee that he was reinterred in a few years after the end of the war. He was only 22 when he was killed in France.

#1918 #19teens #Alex Kownacki #Ancestors #Antique #France #KIA #Kownacki #Lost Generation #Milwaukee #The Great War #The war to end all wars #WWI #Wisconsin National Guard #World War 1 #World War one #brass lighter #cigarette lighter #dog tags #historical research #history #old lighter #trench lighter #vintage #soldier #vintage lighter

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