News: Neillsville - 32nd Division Red Arrow (Brief History - 2017)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Thayer

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 11/01/2017

32nd Division Red Arrow (Brief History - 2017)

By Lori Jayne Carlson

“They were the Iron Brigade during the Civil War, and the 32nd Brigade of the Army National Guard up until 1917,” explained Jackson County Historical Society President Bruce Thayer, “when the United States entered WWI.”

Thayer explained that the symbol for the 32nd was the number 32 with a circle and their General said his men were not going in circles, but straight ahead and plowing through. That is when the men from the Wisconsin and Michigan National Guards of the 32nd became known as the Red Arrow.

“The Red Arrow had a reputation for plowing through,” explained Thayer. “They were the first Allied Soldiers in Germany.”

This year on Veterans Day of the 100th anniversary of the beginning of WWI for the United States, Thayer will be presenting, “The Red Arrow; from the Iron Brigade to the 32nd Division Red Arrow,” Saturday, Nov. 11, at 10:30 a.m. at the Black River Falls Public Library.