From the Civil War to the modern era, Wisconsin has a long legacy of sacrifice and service to the United States of America. Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove is honored to be the final resting place for many brave veterans who called Wisconsin home. Some, including those featured below, have their stories, artifacts and oral histories preserved for posterity in the archives of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.
Dean M. Rockstad
- Rank & Branch: SP3 US ARMY
- War Period: COLD WAR
- Date of Birth: 03/18/1934
- Date of Death: 01/21/2021
- Buried at: SECTION G7 ROW 5 SITE E
Dean Marius Rockstad was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1934. He graduated from West High School in 1952 and was working as an apprentice printer for Madison Newspapers Inc. when he was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Cold War, entering service in July 1955. After training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Pvt. Rockstad shipped out to South Korea in December 1955 where he served with the Korean Military Advisory Group (KMAG) in Pusan and Taegu.
While he was originally assigned to be a combat engineer, his previous experience working as a printer led to his reassignment to a Korean printing plant where he was to help advise on improving efficiency. He later transferred to the adjutant general’s office where he worked as a clerk-typist before returning stateside after 16 months overseas. Corporal Rockstad was discharged in 1957. Following service, he resumed employment with Madison Newspapers Inc. as a composing room employee but later transferred to the Milwaukee Journal where he worked as a printer and computer programmer for 35 years while a resident of Greendale, Wisconsin. Rockstad passed away in 2021 in Hales Corners, Wisconsin and is buried at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove.
Carl E. Willkomm
- Rank & Branch: SP4 US ARMY
- War Period: VIETNAM
- Date of Birth: 08/07/1945
- Date of Death: 10/11/2021
- Buried at: SECTION I2 ROW 1 SITE N
Carl E. Willkomm was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin on August 7, 1945 and attended local schools before being drafted into the US Army right out of high school in 1967. He completed basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas then the US Army’s light vehicle drivers’ course at Fort Huachuca, Arizona before being sent to Stuttgart, Germany where he served as a driver with the 12th Transportation Company until 1968. He then continued to serve as a driver stateside at the US Military Academy at West Point in New York, transporting many dignitaries during his time there before being discharged in 1969 with the rank of Specialist 4 (SP4).
Returning to the Kenosha and Racine area, Willkomm worked as a machinist and joined American Legion Post 171, participating in American Legion Riders and Post 171 “GO BAGS” Rider Group as well as serving in the Honor Guard. He passed away on October 11, 2021 in Sturtevant, Wisconsin and is buried at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove, Wisconsin.
Sherry A. Schaefer
- Rank & Branch: LTC US AIR FORCE
- War Period: VIETNAM
- Date of Birth: 12/16/1935
- Date of Death: 04/15/2022
- Buried at: SECTION U SITE 399
Sherry Ann Bean was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1935. She attended high school in Mineral Point and following graduation attended Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in Madison. She worked in nursing in Viroqua and La Crosse before joining the US Air Force. She was stationed in Alabama, Washington and then Clark AFB in the Philippines. After serving in the Philippines she was stationed at Scott AFB in Illinois where she served on a medical flight crew. It was there that she met her future husband, an airman named Don Schaefer.
Six months after they started dating she was sent to Turkey. While on leave, they were married, but still had to wait a few months to get assigned to the same base. They were sent to Dover, DE, and later Charleston, S.C. Altogether, she served 20 years in the Air Force, ten years of active duty, and then ten years in the Air Force reserves.
In 1983 she lived briefly in St. Louis to help take care of family and then settled in Madison, Wisconsin where she worked in Employee Health for Oscar Mayer. She was also involved in the Madison Veterans Council. She passed away in 2022 and is buried at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove.
Richard J. Rosynek
- Rank & Branch: SP4 US ARMY
- War Period: VIETNAM
- Date of Birth: 05/04/1943
- Date of Death: 09/21/2018
- Buried at: SECTION H6 ROW 4 SITE P
Richard J. Rosynek of West Allis and New Berlin, Wisconsin was drafted into the US Army in July 1964 and served as a Specialist 4 (SP4) with the 2nd Psychological Warfare Battalion during the Vietnam War. Rosynek received special warfare training with an emphasis on printing at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Center for Special Warfare at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, then served in Vietnam from 1965 to 1966. After service, Rosynek was a member of the Hoeppner-Horner Brothers Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 5716 in New Berlin for over 30 years. He passed away in 2018 and is buried at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove.
Robert H. Koeppen
- Rank & Branch: TEC5 US ARMY
- War Period: WORLD WAR II
- Date of Birth: 01/08/1922
- Date of Death: 11/07/2001
- Buried at: SECTION C5C ROW 4 SITE L
Robert Harold Koeppen was born on January 8, 1922 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was living there when he was drafted into the US Army on December 12, 1942. He served as a medical technician with the 307th Airborne Medical Company, 82nd Airborne Division, and he deployed to North Africa in April 1943. He took part in glider operations at Sicily, on D-Day, and Operation Market Garden. In addition to American decorations, he received the Militaire Willems Order and the Belgian Fourragere. He returned to the States in November 1945 and was discharged on November 29, 1945. He remained in Milwaukee and worked for the City of Milwaukee Public Works. He passed away on November 7, 2001 and is buried at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove, Wisconsin.
