Department donates rare WWII maps, photos to federal archives

UW–Madison faculty experts in geospatial science and engineering on Friday, May 6, will present more than 50 original historic World War II maps and air photos of the North African and European theaters to the U.S. Department of Defense National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), formerly known as the Defense Mapping Agency.

The documents, which include invasion maps for North African beaches and Mediterranean islands and a 1944 air photo taken in northeastern France just prior to the Battle of the Bulge, were captured from the enemy, photographed by Allied reconnaissance pilots, or made by the U.S. Army Topographic Mapping Battalion in the field. Scott Loomer of NGA will be on hand to receive the documents, which will reside in the NGA historical archives.

The event will occur at 10 a.m. Friday in the Tong Auditorium of the Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive. Public parking is available in the adjacent Lot 17 ramp.

Civil and environmental engineering Professor Emeritus Eldon “Red” Wagner, now deceased, was an officer in the U.S. Topographic Mapping Battalion. The Madison native served in the North African and European Theaters, heading a battalion that compiled maps for the Allied forces.

Much of his work entailed using aerial photos and a relatively new science called photogrammetry to prepare maps supporting the war effort. Recognizing that these aerial techniques, which enabled maps to be compiled faster and more economically, could also be applied in compiling topographic information and maps to support planning and design in civil engineering and other fields, he brought many maps and photos home with him at war’s end.

He immediately introduced UW–Madison’s first course in photogrammetry into the surveying and mapping curriculum and, under his direction, that program grew to become one of the most renowned in the United States.

A retired U.S. Army Colonel, Loomer is a Madison native and UW–Madison alumnus who started the West Point Military Academy program in geospatial science and engineering. Prior to the presentation, he will give a lecture about the criticality of geospatial science and engineering to national security.