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Military


The Kewaunee County Historical Society will be honoring veterans from our county's past on this page. Tribute to additional veterans will be made with each update to our website.

Those Who Served will give recognition to veterans from different military periods in Kewaunee County's history. There were service personnel, men and women, who made the supreme sacrifice for our country. This page will preserve for our readers, stories about these not to be forgotten heroes.
1st. Lt. Vola Laurent 
1908-1997
The Mystery Person 
By Gerald Bertrand

  This author has been taking care of St Mary Cemetery for many years and putting flags on veterans graves for the last ten years on Memorial Day. I know she was a daughter of Doctor Victor Laurent from the Village of Luxemburg, Wi. It is hard to write about Viola without first writing about Doctor Laurent. Doctor Laurent practiced veterinary medicine for forty-one years in the Luxemburg area. 
  When I was about 4 or 5 years old I remember him coming to my father’s farm for a service call to do some vet work with the cows and horses. A friend of mine told me a story about his father calling Dr. Lauren in the evening about a horse that had colic. Dr was all dressed up to go out for some occasion. He told him to get a pint of moonshine from a known locale producer and give it to the horse. It seemed to work, so his father kept some on hand all the time. The horse didn’t seem to mind the treatment either. My friend’s father probably licked the cork before giving the treatment. 
  Dr. Victor Laurent was founder and past president of the Kewaunee County Fair Association, served on the Luxemburg Village Board, and Luxemburg Bank Board. He had a small mink ranch in Luxemburg near his home. 
  Viola Laurent was born March 15, 1908, the oldest of Victor and Anna Kumbalak Laurent’s eight children. The first writing I could find was when she won first place in the poultry division on September 11, 1925, at the Kewaunee County Fair. She graduated from Luxemburg High School in 1926. Two weeks after school was out on June 10, 1926, Viola left Luxemburg on the morning train for Milwaukee for employment. In 1927 she left Luxemburg with her sister Madeline to study nursing in Watertown, Wi. 
  Viola was at St. Theresa School of Nursing in Waukegan IL. On June 10, 1931, she gave the commencement speech at her graduation. The next listing, I found was when she was a nurse in a hospital at Cape Province, South Africa in 1934. In 1935, Viola was at a Veterans Hospital in Waukegan, IL. In 1940, she worked as a nurse at a State Hospital in Peoria, IL . In 1944 she was at the 91st General Hospital, Shick Hospital Clinton Iowa.  
  The Schick Hospital was taken over by the military June 20, 1943, for its use. The hospital complex occupied about 160 acres and at peak capacity had 3,600 patients during WWII. On July 28,1944 it was determined that nurses in Army Hospitals should receive an Officer Commission. On September 26, 1944, Viola entered the armed forces. She had to go through army nurses training where there were road marches, bivouacs camping outdoors, tent pitching of heavy hospital tents the size of a barn in all weather. 1st. Lt. Viola Laurent stayed at that hospital until March 11, 1946, when she was discharged after the war. Later in 1946 she was a registered nurse in Waukegan, Il Veterans Hospital and served as head nurse in the Psychiatric Ward. From 1950 to 1954, Viola was a RN at a hospital in St. Louis MO. 
  In 1955 Viola was back again at the VA Hospital in Waukegan IL as Head Psychiatric Nurse. Also, in 1955 she married David Fleming from Waukegan. Not much is found about him. They didn’t have any children. David died 1970 and is laid to rest in Waukegan.
  Very little is known after this point. She must have kept her head nurses position in psychiatric ward at the VA Hospital until retirement. Then she returned to DePere near her sister and brother-in-law Cleo and Carl Sturdevent. 
  Viola Lauren Fleming aged 89 died on July 20, 1997, at a local nursing home in Green Bay, Wi.
Her obituary reads as follows. She was a registered nurse and was a U.S Army Veteran of World War II. Viola had been a Head Psychiatric Nurse at the Veterans Hospital in Waukegan, IL prior to returning to this area. She was proud of the procedures she developed and are still used to teach new nurses today. 
  In her many years of nursing, Viola Laurent surely encountered much trauma in the veteran hospitals. Her extensive service and travels helped her in working with our veterans. She was a remarkable person who served her country well in times of its greatest needs. 

Shick General Hospital www://.med-dept-dept.com/unit-histories/91st-general-hospita/
 Town Tidings Luxemburg News – 9/11/1925,9/02/1927,6/12/1926
Kewaunee Veterans Administration 08/03/2023
Dr. Victor Laurent obituary—Luxemburg News 1/27/1959
Viola Laurent Fleming obituary Green Bay Press Gazette 7/22/1997
 Photos by Gerald Bertrand 
Information from Ron Flemal 
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/70160905/viola-fleming
1st Lt. Army nurses dress 
Located in St. Mary Cemetery-Luxemburg, Wi.
Those Who Served

Larry Bouchonville
US ARMY
Wilfred Bredael
US ARMY
WWII
​Ben Estel
ARMY KOREA
1950-1952


​Ken Kust
US ARMY
ACTIVE DUTY 8/1954 - 8/1956

Marlin Zimmer
​US ARMY
Top Row Anton Ciha—Theophile Lehnert—Charles Knipp-Wensel Tuma—John Legois-Joseph Delebreau—Emil Parma 

Front—Frank Wessly—Louis Kirchman—Carl Lidral—Eugene Boureain-Joseph Walecka 

Hubert B. Jauquet
WWII Survivor

By Gerald Bertrand

Hubert (Hub) Jauquet was born June 25, 1920 to Frank and Clara (Collard) Jauquet. He was born and raised in Brown County. Growing up being shorter in stature, he was nicknamed Cubby and even had a tattoo on his arm around a heart.
On August 31,1940, Hub enlisted in the U.S. Army. On August 1,1941, he was promoted to PFC First Class for the 34th Field Artillery at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. On January 19,1942, he was promoted to Corporal. In October 1942, Hub joined the 321st Glider Field Artillery of the 101st Airborne Division, The Screaming Eagles, which had just moved to Fort Bragg from Camp Claiborne, Louisiana.
On September 5,1943, Hub, a member of the Glider Field artillery Unit, departed for England. They arrived on September 15,1943. The next eight and half months were spent at Whitcomb Farm at Newbery, England preparing for the Normandy D-Day Invasion.
D-Day Invasion
From information Hub told to his family and re-counted to me, the Normandy D-Day Invasion, on June 6th, 1944 was to have them land on Utah Beach. However, everything went wrong. Early that morning, Hub’s ship, the Susan B. Anthony, struck a mine and started to sink at 8:00 a.m. Twenty-two men died in the explosion. The artillery troops managed to get off by boarding another ship nearby, before it sank. The suddenness of the ship’s sinking resulted in loss of all equipment: helmets, rifles, backpacks.
The ship they boarded was going to Omaha Beach and not Utah Beach. The person operating the landing barge either miscalculated his position or lost his nerve. He dropped the gate too early, which resulted in their being too far from shore. Since Hub was only five feet four inches tall, the water was almost over his head. Although being wet with no gear and bullets hitting all around, he made it to land. Even though there were bodies all over the beach and it was a state of confusion, they were able to pick up rifles and ammunition, which was lying on the beach. Hub recalled that all the organization and training they had, went in effect out the window. Collectively, the men were trying to reorganize. Very few squads were still intact. The men were relying on good luck and instinct.
There was no longer a set plan. The men in the Artillery Unit were at Omaha Beach, when they were supposed to be at Utah Beach. The heavy equipment was at Utah Beach waiting to be unloaded for two days. The bloody Omaha Beach had twenty-two hundred casualties the first day. Once they moved inland, Hub could see how bad the gliders and paratroopers had it. About seventy-five percent had crashed into stone fences all around small fields. They moved across France losing ten to twenty men a day.
Operation Market Garden
Hub and his unit were involved in Operation Market Garden, which was an ill conceived plan by Eisenhower to send thirty thousand British and American Airborne Troops behind enemy lines to capture eight bridges on the Holland German border. Tanks and infantry would strike up a main road to cross the bridges and relieve the Airborne Troops.
The problem was, that the Germans knew the plans and took out the first bridge and stalled the column. Supplies ran out for the thirty thousand troops behind enemy lines. The German presence was greater than anticipated. Market Garden started on September 19,1944 from Wilford England and landed by glider in the vicinity of Einhoven Holland.
Hub told us that his glider was loaded with a jeep, a howitzer, and six men not including the pilot and co-pilot. Also, the glider crash landed, and the momentum sent the jeep and gun forward killing the pilot and co-pilot. Hub ordered the men to sit on their helmets to protect their butts from gun fire as the Germans were firing form the ground. Market Garden came to an end on November 14,1944, while the 101st remained until November 27. The Allies suffered seventeen thousand causalities. Two thousand one hundred came from the 101st, that was over fifty percent loss.
Battle of the Bulge
Hub and his unit went on R&R rest on December 18,1944 in Moemellen, France for six to eight weeks. Their time was cut short by the German counter offensive. Only three weeks into R&R, December 18,1944, the 101st was ordered to move to Bastone, Belgium. Bastone was the key in unhinging the German communications as they moved West. The 101st was ordered not to give up Bastone at any cost. Four German soldiers walked up to their fox holes around Bastone carrying white flags wanting to talk to General Anthony McAuliffe asking him to surrender. Hub every morning had to bring the morning report to the General’s tent and was in the room when the General gave his famous words to the Germans “Nuts.” 
Hub recalled that that day was cool and foggy. The airplanes tried getting supplies to them. They had to wait until the fog cleared up. Hub and a driver got a jeep and trailer and went out to get some of the supplies, when a German tank came over a hill. They headed back fast. The tank blew the back wheel off the trailer. They kept on going. When the skies cleared, the Airforce came in bombing and striking the German tanks and dropping the much- needed supplies and ammunition. General Patten came in with his 3rd Army and tanks. This was the Battle of the Bulge and ended around January 25.
On February 23,1945, the 101st Unit returned to Moemellan, France for R&R. General Eisenhower came and spoke to the 101st Airborne Division and awarded them the Distinguished Unit Citation for its stand in Bastone.
As the war in Europe was nearing its end, the 101st Airborne Division moved to the Ruhr pocket near Nievenheim and crossed the Rhine River in sixteen assault boats to attack the Village of Himmelgeist. On April 1945, the 101st Airborne Division’s drive uncovered Kaufering IV, one of 11 concentration camps in the Landsberg region. At it’s height, the camp held more than 3,600 prisoners. A few days before the 101st arrived, the SS had evacuated many of the prisoners on a death march south in the direction of Dachau. Hundreds of the inmates were too ill or weak to make the trek, so the SS guards set fire to the barracks at Kaufering IV to prevent their liberation by US troops.
The US Army upon arrival in Kaufering IV discovered 500 dead prisoners. In the days that followed, General Eisenhower, and the U.S. Army units ordered the local population to bury the dead. The local villagers said they were unaware this was going on. 
On May 4th and 5th they had their last war time mission – the capture of Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s Eagle Nest. Hub told me that Hitler had a lot of American Beer in his wine cellar. Not letting the beer and wine go to waste, you can image what the troops did.
The war was over, although they were packing equipment to go to the invasion of Japan. Before they could leave, the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. Japan surrendered on September 2,1945 and that was the end of the war on all fronts.
Coming Home
Hub departed the European Theater on September 6,1945 and arrived in the United States on September 14,1945. He was honorably discharged from the Army of the United States with the rank of Sargeant First Class from Fort Sheridan, Illinois on September 22,1945.
His discharge paper stated he was active in four of the five major battles of WWII: Normandy, Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe. His decorations and citations that he was very proud of included: Good Conduct Medal; Bronz Star Medal for the valor above and beyond the call of duty; 101st Division 45 Unit Badge, 3rd Army 45; American Defense Service Ribbon; European Theater Ribbon with 4 Bronze Battle Stars; and the Bronze Service Arrowhead, Glider Badge. After his discharge, Hub joined the Army Reserves with HQ Battery, 887th Field Artillery Battalion in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Marion Goltz, my foster sister and my Godmother, came to my family in 1940 at the age of 16 and stayed with us as part of our family. Upon his return, Hub met Marion and they were married. My parents, Angeline and Robert Bertrand gave them a wedding celebration at our farm on September 6,1946. 
Hub ran the Jauquet farm behind the Jauquet Bar, that is now the Perly Gates Bar. As part of the Army Reserves unit Hub was called to serve in the Korean War on September 1,1950. He had an auction to sell his personal property: Guernsey cows, and his pride and joy, his Cockshut tractor. He left with his unit to Camp McCoy, where the army thought he had too many dependents and was too old.
He officially received a 2nd honorable discharge on November 21, 1950, with the rank of Master Sargeant. He went on to work in construction and worked in the paper mill. Together, Hub and Marion ran the Jauquet Ceramic Shop on finger Road. They retired at their cottage at Mountain, Lakewood area.
He belonged to the Bellevue VFW, post 9677 helping other veterans by driving them to appointments even over to King Veterans Hospital.
Hubert B. Jauquet died March 28,2008 and was laid to rest in Our Prince of Peace Holy Martyrs site with full military honors. I was proud to be a pallbearer at his funeral. Marion will be one-hundred years old in February and remains in excellent health.
WWII was experienced by our parents and their entire families and neighbors. Food and fuel were rationed by civilians. Seventy-five million people died to put down three dictators that wanted to rule the world: Adolph Hitler of Germany, Benito Mussolini of Italy and Hirohito of Japan.
  The 1947 County Atlas stated that Kewaunee County being a small county with limited population of about 20,000, 2,364 soldiers sent to WWII of that 39 were killed. Many more were wounded. 



Sources: Marion Jauquet Family, Gerald Bertrand Recollections, John Maino’s, Frontline, World War II.