Papers and photographs of Robert E. Brodhagen, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin native who served with the 58th Station Hospital, 21st General Hospital during World War II. The papers and photographs were originally a part of a scrapbook that was dismantled for preservation purposes, and a photocopy of the original order was maintained in the collection. Items in the scrapbook were arranged by geographic location and often included captions about the content. Papers consist of souvenirs, a note written by Brodhagen reflecting on his experience crossing the Atlantic, letters of commendation, and other materials collected during his service in North Africa and Europe. Also included are telegrams and postcards documenting the correspondence between Brodhagen and his future wife Jean Johnson, who served as a Corporal in the Marine Corps Aviation Women's Reserve Squadron 16. Some documents related to their wedding are also a part of the collection, including the marriage license and a note giving permission for Jean to wear civilian clothes at her wedding ceremony. Black and white photographs are mostly of the hospital areas of base camps where Brodhagen worked. Images include the surgery tents, individual and group shots of the men and women of the surgery staff, the hospital chapel area, and pictures of local farmers in who lived near the camps in Algiers and Tunisia. Of particular interest is a photograph of the surgery staff taken with Italian prisoners as well as some pictures of German plane wreckage. Also included are tourist photographs taken in North Africa, Italy, and France during the war and include scenes of Algiers, Tunis, Carthage, Bardo, Naples, Mt. Vesuvius, Ceccano, Rome, Marseille, and Paris. There are also a couple of postcards from Italy and France. Photographs depicting the wedding of Jean and Robert in 1945 round out the collection. Color photographs are all of Jean before Brodhagen left for North Africa. Robert "Brody" Brodhagen was born in Milwaukee and was enlisted in 1941. He met his future wife, Jean Johnson Brodhagen of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on a blind date and they were married in July 1945. After the war, they settled in Tulsa where Brodhagen worked as an insurance agent for over 30 years.
