Van Seymour Brokaw

Van Seymour Brokaw enlisted in the US Army Corps of Engineers on July 4, 1917. He was sent to HQ Company, 107th Infantry Regiment during WWI. The 107th was a historic regiment consisting of mostly men from Northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. They were assigned to the 32nd Division and went overseas to France on Jan. 20, 1918. While in France, Brokaw and his unit had the important job of laying defensive lines, digging trenches, and laying roads. By the time Brokaw returned to the US in 1919, he had reached the rank of 2nd lieutenant. In between the wars, Lieutenant Brokaw remained in the Army National Guard. On Oct. 15, 1940, he again answered the call of his country and went back into active duty. He entered as a corporal in Battery B, 120th Field Artillery Regiment and quickly rose the ranks again. At some point during the war, he returned to the Corps of Engineers and attained the rank of captain. On Aug. 29, 1946, Captain Brokaw was a passenger on B-17s/n 44-6934 when it crashed into a mountainside near the French city of Grenoble. His body was recovered and identified and he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Feb. 20, 1947.