Bernard Lockerman - a Proven Patriot

Bernard Lockerman was born in either 1895 or 1896 to Chas and Berthe Rosenbaum Lockerman. He was the middle of five children with the oldest Harry and Margaret and the youngest Charlotte and Gertrude. Both of his parents were German born as were his grandparents. His mother died in 1903 at the age of 37. His occupation of work was as a molder which he probably did itinerantly. That means he did his job wherever the work was needed. His occupation differed from many other veterans as according to a sample, a majority of them were farmers. He was married to Adeline Linner who was pregnant by the time he joined the army in 1918. I am certain there was some mistrust of him because of his German Heritage as there was massive suspicions of people of that particular heritage. The state of Wisconsin had a lot of trust issues from the country because the state had a large vocal German American population. I'm certain he was proving that he was a patriot who loved his country.

Mr. Ackerman entered the service on March 30, 1918 as a private in company 14, 106th infantry regiment, 27th infantry division. He trained at Camp Custer in Michigan and he was shipped to France in May of 1918. The division was a New York National Guard unit that was sent to war. The 106th was commanded by Colonel Frank H. Norton. The regiment was sent into action on August 31, 1918 alongside British forces in the Ypres- Lys offensive as part of a reconnaissance to drive German forces out of the Dickebusch/ Scherpenberg area. Many of the troops were inexperienced and they suffered heavy losses in the operation. Germans withdrew from the area on September 3 which concluded the offensive. The 106th and the rest of the 27th division would participate in the Somme Offensive to break through the German Hindenburg Line from September 24- October 21. Bernard was killed in Verdun in the very beginning of the offensive as he was killed on September 25, 1918. The line was eventually broken through and the entire 27th division was withdrawn from the front. The division returned to the United States on March 19, 1919 and was disbanded. Bernard was one of 1,955 casualties that the 106th regiment suffered during the Great War.

Mr. Lockerman's body was returned to the US and eventually be interned at Prairie Home Cemetery in Waukesha. Unfortunately, there was not much of a happy ending regarding this veteran. He was killed in action and he never got to meet his son. His widow collected insurance after his death as he left her his insurance policy before he shipped out. This obviously proves that was not sure if he would return alive.

Bernard Lockerman had everything including a wife, a baby on the way, and a great job. Despite this, he answers the call of duty for a country that is suspicious of him. He is sent off too war where he serves and eventually loses his life in the process. He proved his patriotism in his service. In fact in 1919, the Wisconsin governor authorized the creation of the Wisconsin War History Commision to give the history of the states contribution to the war. In the 1920s many Wisconsin World War 1 monuments were built. This was done to honor heroes like Bernard Lockerman for their sacrifices in the Great War.

"Wisconsin, Death Records, 1867-1907", Family Search. March 10th 2018. Accessed March 11th 2021. "Wisconsin, Death Records, 1867-1907," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XL89- 7QC : 10 March 2018), Chas Lockermann in entry for Bertha Schade Lockermann, 1903; citing Death, Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Wisconsin State Historical Society, Madison; FHL microfilm 1,310,331..

106th Ny Infantry Regiment World War 1, New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center. August 10th 2018. Accessed March 12th 2021. https://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/wwi/infantry/106thInf/106thInfMain.htm.

27th Division, Summary of Operations in the World War. Washington DC. American Battle Monuments Commission , 1944.

"Article No. 2." Libertyville Independent (Libertyville ) December 4th 1919. , 6-6.

Farwell, Byron. Overt There The United States in the Great War 1917-1918. New York, NY. W.W. Norton & Company, 1999.

Bellais, Leslie A. 'Lest We Forget': Remembering World War I in Wisconsin, 1919-1945, WW1CC. September 29th 2018. Accessed March 12th 2021. https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=ww1cc-symposium.