James Robert Walsh

James Robert Walsh, the maternal grandfather of Professor Leah Niederstadt, the curator of the Permanent Collection, acquired the uniform set from Barbara Owen sometime around the 1950s. Walsh (1909-1991) was born in Montana, the middle child of Francis and Emma Walsh. During his adult life, Walsh lived in Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI, and Glendale, AZ, where he moved to after retiring from his career as a steel-mill worker and foreman. It was at his Glendale home that the uniform set was discovered in an attic chest.

An avid hunter, fisherman, and carpenter, Walsh never served in the military himself, but was very interested in the culture surrounding it. This interest could have contributed to his purchase of the uniform set from Barbara Owen. This transaction would have most likely occured during the 1950s, when Walsh was living in Detroit and Owen was found in nearby Wayne, MI. 

Text Source:

Leah Niederstadt. Personal Communication. Wheaton College, Norton, MA. April 23, 2014.

Image Source:

Walsh, Mary V. James Robert Walsh. Photograph. 1940. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/?ui=2&ik=e0c568f5a9&view=fimg&th=145895c5cfd7c647&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=f_hub5k5ao0&safe=1&attbid=ANGjdJ_Fts_RSctYx06UEp_fXmuypECP1_XFAIIQWP-t-4uVXos-Dc4pRwrWhGpgbnFRqDAmEwQFU7pIsVitE0WMaAy-spmU_SD_CHoEYf1AVFuT8DvFT45SyIIQx58&ats=1398269248025&rm=145895c5cfd7c647&zw&sz=w1254-h496