photograph
Catalog Number
2019.30.89Description
Black and white photograph showing the National Guardsmen from Company D (renamed Company B in 1963). The photo shows three men standing with tent structures behind them. Handwritten on the front and back are the names "Rowan, Japinga & Smeenge".History
Colonel Henry Geerds was the driving force behind bringing a National Guard unit to Holland, MI. After his experience in WWI he was determined to have someplace where he could properly train young men to become soldiers. Geerds' Company D, a machine gun battery, began enlisting young men in 1921.Geerds then began making plans to have an Armory built in Holland. The Holland Armory was dedicated in 1925.