American Legion donates historical mural to the City of South Milwaukee

A painting that is “symbolical of the American way of life” and the American Legion now hangs in South Milwaukee’s city hall.

That phrase is part of a caption below a photo engraved onto a plaque depicting the 4-foot-by-8-foot painting’s presentation to the commander of the South Milwaukee Van Eimeren-Kolonka American Legion Post 27, Everett Cook, by artist Robert Cassidy.

The photo was originally published in the Milwaukee Journal in 1959, according to former South Milwaukee Ald. Ramon Navarro, who has been part of the American Legion for 24 years. He said a member of the Legion still had a copy.

Cassidy, who has paintings on display in the Ernie Pyle museum, was the son of Jack Cassidy, a well-known auto dealer in South Milwaukee at the time, according to the caption.

The formal presentation of the mural and plaque took place at the March 19 common council meeting.

“It went very well,” Navarro said of the presentation.

Navarro, a veteran himself, served as alderman in South Milwaukee for 21 years but chose not to run again in District 2 in the spring 2024 election.

The Post 27 building was sold in September 2023 for $340,000. The new owners plan to operate a banquet and event space in the facility called Bella Rose while still allowing the veterans to meet there periodically.

While some of the artifacts were allowed to stay in the building, many of them had to be removed for the new owners to operate their business. The Legion spent about $2,000 to have the mural restored by a local artist based in South Milwaukee prior to presenting it to the city, Navarro said.

“It was meant to symbolize the driving force of the United States branches of the armed services in an American way,” he said of the symbolism behind the mural. “It represents the Americanism of the American Legion.”

Contact Erik S. Hanley aterik.hanley@jrn.com. Like his Facebook page,The Redheadliner, and follow him on X@Redheadliner.