A Soldier’s Story: Jack Holum’s World War II Letters

media release: Barbara Bartz will present “A Soldier’s Story: Jack Holum’s World War II Letters” on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. at Mount Horeb’s downtown Driftless Historium (100 S 2nd St). Jack Holum was drafted to serve his country the December after he graduated from Mount Horeb High School, and he was killed in action just fifteen months later at age nineteen. Presenter Barb Bartz will discuss Jack’s life and military career, as gleaned from over 275 letters he wrote home to friends and family during his deployment.

Holum was drafted into the United States Army in December 1943 and died in Germany on March 24, 1945. Following basic and infantry training stateside, Holum was assigned to the Battalion Headquarters of the 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Division. On behalf of the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society, Volunteer Bartz transcribed Holum’s expansive assemblage of sometimes mundane, often humorous, always touching correspondence—carefully compiled and saved by his family, recovered by a conscientious antiques dealer, and now a treasured collection within the MHAHS archive.

Bartz’s interest in history led her to MHAHS, where she took on the Holum transcription project with her signature diligence and reliability. Barb is a 1961 graduate of Mount Horeb High School. She went on to work for the State of Wisconsin for almost 39 years, “retiring” in 2001. She then spent the next decade as a retail associate at Hallmark, followed by another ten years at Duluth Trading Company’s Mount Horeb storefront—before retiring for a second time. A mother of three and grandmother of seven, Bartz also volunteers as the property manager at Evangelical Lutheran Church.

The Mount Horeb Area Historical Society operates the Driftless Historium. MHAHS was founded in 1975 to collect, preserve and share the stories of southwestern Dane County.

No reservations are necessary, and all are welcome to attend this FREE presentation. For more information on “A Soldier’s Story: Jack Holum’s WWII Letters,” call 608-437-6486 or email mthorebahs@gmail.com.