Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Uniform, Military Dress |
Catalog Number |
2019.060.02 |
Description |
WWII olive drab wool dress uniform worn by Lester Olson A) Eisenhower dress military jacket with center front button closure. Jacket is size 36 Regular with inside and outside pockets, outside left pocket has black stain. On the front left is a Combat Infantryman Badge, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon with four bronze Service Stars, Army Good Conduct Ribbon, American Campaign Ribbon, World War II Victory Ribbon. On the front right is a machine-stitched Honorable Service Patch "Ruptured Duck." On the lapels is the Army Infantry Branch Insignia. On right shoulder is the hand-sewn 94th Infantry Badge. On the left arm is hand-sewn 90th Infantry Division patch and hand-sewn "Overseas" three horizonital gold-colored bars representing 18 months of overseas service. "07142" written in marker on inside back of jacket. B) Dress military pants with 32-inch waist and 30-inch inseam. Button and zipper closure. Pants have side pockets and two back pockets with buttons. "2259", "W", "14" are written in pen on inside of pants. Hem of pants have been extended by an inch. |
Year Range from |
1942 |
Year Range to |
1945 |
Provenance |
This uniform was worn by Lester Olson during World War II. |
Owned By |
Lester Olson |
Event |
World War II |
Material |
Wool |
People |
Olson, Lester |
Subjects |
Military |
Search Terms |
WWII World War II |
Relation |
Show Related Records... |
Notes |
Stain on the pocket is from Lester leaving black licorice candy in the pocket when the jacket was put away after the war. Following Pearl Harbor, West Salem’s Lester Olson, joined the Army. His brothers Maynard (Army Air Corps), Melvin (Navy), and Everett (Army) also served in WWII, and another brotherWillard served during the Korean conflict. Lester was trained as a radioman at Camp McCain, located in Grenada, Mississippi. He served in the 94th Division and became a valuable part of Patton’s Third Army, which saw intense fighting, especially during the Battle of the Bulge. His unit was the first to penetrate the Siegfried Line, after which, it found itself surrounded behind German Lines and had to fight tenaciously to prevail. He earned four battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation for his service. When big bands came to entertain the troops, Olson frequently sang with visiting bands. He was a modest and humble man and rarely talked about those times. But later in life, he told his family that he was once told by an agent, "We’ll see you in Hollywood after the war." Lester returned home after the war ended in 1945. He got a job at the La Crosse Post Office and raised a family below the bluff on the South side of La Crosse. |