Wikus, Julius L. Papers

Corporal, 139th Infantry Regiment, 35th Division, 1917-1919.

The papers of Julius L. Wikus include a typewritten account of his experiences during World War I, along with printed materials, postcards, military records, and other items.

Size: Less than one linear foot (about 600 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: No donation of copyright was received with this collection. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Randy Sowell (2025).

Julius Lincoln Wikus was born in Elmdale, Kansas on July 29, 1891. On June 9, 1917, in Marion, Kansas, he enlisted in Company M, Third Infantry Regiment, Kansas National Guard. His regiment was called into federal service by President Woodrow Wilson on August 5, 1917. As a corporal in Company M of the 139th Infantry Regiment, 35th Division, Wikus was sent to France in 1918. His regiment took part in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, which forced Germany to surrender and brought an end to World War I. He returned to the United States after the war and was discharged from the U.S. Army at Camp Funston, Kansas on May 8, 1919. In later years, Wikus lived in Topeka, Kansas, worked as an insurance salesman, and was an active member of the American Legion. He died in Topeka in July 1980.

The papers of Julius L. Wikus include a typewritten account of his experiences during World War I, along with printed materials, postcards, military records, and other items. Most of the materials in the collection were originally kept in a scrapbook, which was opened for research at the Truman Library as part of the General Historical Documents Collection (GHDC 211).

"World War Experiences," Wikus’s detailed account of his activities during the First World War, covers the period from his enlistment in June 1917 to his discharge in May 1919, and is approximately fifteen pages in length. The account contains descriptions of his training in Kansas and Oklahoma, his trip to Europe, his service with the 139th Regiment in the decisive Meuse-Argonne offensive, his visit to Paris after the Armistice, his voyage back to the United States, and the welcome he and his comrades received when they returned home to Marion, Kansas.

Among the printed materials in the collection are an illustrated history of the 35th Division in World War I, a souvenir book listing the persons from Marion County who served in the war, and clippings from newspapers and other publications. The postcards in the collection include messages from Wikus to his future wife, Ruth Withers, as well as images of World War I battlefields and the historic sites of Paris. Wikus’s discharge certificates from the National Guard and the U.S. Army are included among the military records. Among the other items in the collection is a letter from Wikus to his cousin, in which he discusses his experiences during the war.

Related collections at the Truman Library include the records of the 35th Division Association and the World War I Collection.