photograph
Catalog Number
2019.30.157Description
Black and white photograph showing the National Guardsmen from Company D (renamed Company B in 1963). The photo appears to shows four men sitting on the ground. They appear to be listening to a man who is standing in front of them. There is a typed message stapled to the front of the photo that says "Preliminary Range instruction is give by S.F.C. Ken Mokma, at the 3.5 rocket launcher range. This is the last instruction received before the actual firing of the weapon" Handwritten on back of the photo is "1960 and 1961".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.