Clarence Jungwirth

On Sunday, January 21, 2018, local historian, author, WWII vet and Oshkosh Truck engineer Clarence “Inky” Jungwirth, 98, died peacefully in his sleep at Mercy Hospital, after suffering a heart attack. Born October 5, 1919, the eldest son of John and Josephine (Wolf) Jungwirth’s three children. Clarence was baptized, attended school and remained an active life time member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. He especially loved being director of the Catholic Youth Organization through the 1960’s.
In 1940 he joined Company H 127th Infantry Regiment of the 32nd “Red Arrow” Division of Wisconsin National Guard which was folded into the US Regular Army and deployed to Australia to fight in the Pacific Theater. As an Infantryman he was in the battle of “Bloody Buna” in New Guinea, invasion of the Philippines, and the Liberation of Leyte Island. As a company clerk, he took great pride in figuring out how to circumvent army regulations to supply the needs of the troops. With an Honorable Discharge, Clarence returned home and found a job at Oshkosh Truck, staying until the week of his death, 72 years. After working his way up to Engineering Design Supervisor, he tried to retire in 1987 only to be called back to consult at the Oshkosh Truck Service Center.
When he was in his 50’s, his life took several eventful turns, finding and marring the love of his life and pursuing his dream of a Bachelor Degree from UW-Oshkosh. His love of history resulted in writing over twenty books on the history of Oshkosh, Oshkosh Truck, and his WWII experienced. “The Diary of a National Guardsman in World War II” is part of the libraries at the US Army War College in Carlisle, PA and the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Clarence gave life to his stories giving over almost 500 lectures to Fox River Valley church groups, social organizations, school groups and UW Oshkosh. He enjoyed being a frequent interview guest of Oshkosh Community TV Channel, UW-O, WBAY TV-2 and both Wisconsin and Milwaukee PBS.
For his contribution to preserving local history, in 2000 The City of Oshkosh Landmark Commission awarded Clarence the “Acanthus Award”. In 2015 to recognize the outstanding body of work, Clarence created while documenting local history, The Winnebago County Historical & Archaeological Society created the “Clarence J. Jungwirth Historian Award”. This new annual award will honor an individual’s significant contributions to identify and preserve local history.
Clarence is survived by his love, “his baby,” his wife, Virginia; his dearly loved children, Katherine Scott Georgeson, Clay (Debbi) Georgeson, Julie Ruck and daughter-in-law Karen Wolfert; eight grandchildren; and six great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father and mother; sister, Grace (Jungwirth) Duhm; and a brother Robert Jungwirth.
Visitation will be at Konrad-Behlman Funeral Home- Westside, 100 Lake Pointe Drive, on Friday January 26, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Visitation will continue at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 519 Knapp St, on Saturday, January 27 from 9:00 am until the time of Mass at 11:00 am.
Instead of flowers memorials have been established, or a donation may be made to the Oshkosh Public Museum and The Winnebago County Historical & Archaeological Society in Clarence’s name.