In February of 2021, I wrote about three soldiers from the 82nd Division, 325th Infantry, pictured in a postcard at the Norcross Rifle Range during World War I. My plan was to research the remaining soldiers and write about them at a later date.
Nils Berglund, far right on first row, came from Brockton, Massachusetts to become part of the 82nd Division, 325th Infantry at Camp Gordon. This photo was taken at nearby Norcross Rifle Range.
That has proved to be much more difficult than I imagined. There are various sources I used for the first three soldiers that just weren’t working. I discovered that Milo E. B. Berglund was from Brockton, Massachusetts, living at 154 Laureston Street. His parents were Peter Berglund and Ida S. Berglund.
In 1942, I found Peter and Ida Berglund still living at the same address in Brockton, but no city directory records show up for Milo Berglund. This record was found through ancestry.com. A search of newspapers.com did not produce any additional information on Milo or his parents.
Name spellings sometimes make research difficult. In this case, Milo Berglund (note the spelling) is listed on the passenger list of the ship Khyber departing April 25, 1918 for France. On the back of the postcard I found, his name is spelled Burglund.
Then I discovered in city directory records,a Nils E. B. and Helen Berglund living at 154 Laureston Street, so living with Peter and Ida Berglund. This was the breakthrough moment, because I had not searched the name Nils or Nils E. B. Berglund.
The new search resulted in his World War I draft registration card, completed under the name of Nils Edwin Burton Berglund. He worked as a pattern maker at a shoe factory. A quick search of shoe factories in Brockton, Massachusetts around the time of WWI shows that the town was known for its shoe manufacturing companies. He was born May 15, 1896. This was slightly off from my usual guess of 1895 for the birth year of WWI soldiers.
Then I hit the jackpot on newspapers.com! I came across the small piece below about Berglund written in April of 1919. Note how the spelling of his name is once again an issue.
It is exciting to me that this soldier who may or may not be remembered can be recognized today for his service and his bravery.
Nils and Helen married in 1920 and he lived a long life following his service during WWI. He died on May 22, 1988 and is buried beside his wife Helen at Melrose Cemetery, in the same town where he was born-Brockton.
There are more soldiers in the postcard photo that need their stories told, but that will have to wait until another day.
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