James W. Willett  June 1913 to June 1914

James William Willett was born in Mercer County, Illinois, on March 8, 1846. As a youth he lived at Keithsburg, Illinois, on the banks of the Mississippi River. When the Civil'War began, young Willett attempted to enlist in the Union Army, but failed because of his youth and size. In the spring of 1863, however, he obtained employment on a transport vessel as an "ordinary seaman". In the fall of that year by passing the examinations, he was enabled to enlist in the United States Navy as "an able seaman", and was assigned to the United States Gunboat Springfield of the Mississippi Squadron, where he served as boatswain's mate. At the close of the war, Comrade Willett continued his work on rivers and lakes until 18 7 1, when he gave up the seafaring life, came to Iowa, and began the study of law. Having been admitted to the bar, he opened offices at Toledo and Tama. He has practiced law in Tama County for many years, and for more than twelve years he was Judge of the District Court. Comrade Willett was a charter member of Thomas F. Bradford Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, organized at Tama in 1883, and after more than fifty years he is still a member of that Post. At the Annual Encampment at Burlington in 1913, he was elected Department Commander. He has also held the office of Judge Advocate General, and in 1922 he had the high distinction of being unanimously elected Commander,in-Chief.

Byron C. Ward  June 1914 to June 1915

Byron C. Ward was born at Underhill, Vermont, on November 28, 1838. As a youth he entered upon a college course, but war interfered and on August 28, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company G, Second Vermont Infantry. His soldierly bearing soon brought promotion and he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant. He was in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, Petersburg, Cedar Creek, and Gettysburg. In 1869 Comrade Ward came to Iowa, locating at Prairie City in Jasper County, where he resided for two years. Later he moved to Des Moines where he became a member of Crocker Post No. 12. His interest in the Grand Army of the Republic made him a suitable candidate for Department Commander - an office to which he was elected in 1914. When he came to the end of his long career on January 18, 1922, a Des Moines newspaper said of him: "Byron C. Ward .... represented the fullest measure of public service. He was active in everything that is worth while in national, state and community life. Few men find time to do all things Mr. Ward did for others. His devotion to the public good continued throughout his long life of eighty-three years".

John F. Merry  June 1915 to June 1916

Vicksburg National Park is a memorial to many heroic soldiers who fought there, but especially to John Festus Merry, who was in, a large measure responsible for its ,establishment. Merry was born in Peninsula, Ohio, on March 24, 1844. As a youth of twelve years, he came to Iowa with his parents in an immigrant wagon. In 1862, at the age of 18, he enlisted in Company K, Twenty, first Iowa Infantry. In March of the next year he was discharged for disability, but he recovered sufficiently to reenter service as second lieutenant in Company F, Fortysixth Iowa Infantry. In 1880 he entered the service of the Illinois Central Railroad Company as excursion agent. Step by step he was advanced until he was made assistant general passenger agent for the entire system, and later general immigration agent. He was an indefatigable worker in the interest of the veterans. For many years he served the Grand Army of 'the Republic in various ways. In June, 1915, he was elected Department Commander - a position which he filled with honor and credit, despite his ill health. On January 30, 1917, he laid down the burdens of life, as a tired child lays aside its toys for an hour of rest and sleep.

John Henry Mills  June 1916 to June 1917

John Henry Mills was born in Indiana, on October 3 1, 1847. He came to Iowa in 1856, and at the age of seventeen enlisted ' in Company H, Thirty-ninth Iowa Infantry. He served in Sherman's army, witnessed the burning of Richmond, and was at the final review at Washington, D. C., at the dose of the war. He was a substantial and active member of Post No. 43, at Redfield, Iowa, and was widely known among Grand Army men throughout the State. His interest in the Grand Army in both the State and Nation led to his candidacy for Department Commander, and at the Annual Encampment at Marshalltown in 1916 he was unanimously elected to that office. After his retirement from the Commandership he became a member of the National Staff. Finally as Chief of Staff of the National Commander he rendered his final service, coming to the end of his career on January 18, 1931. His eighty,three years were full of service and honor.

J.L. Farrington  June 1917 to June 1918

J. L. Farrington, the son of an Irish emigrant, left his home at the age of sixteen to enlist in Company B, One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Illinois Infantry. There he served as a good soldier, taking part in all the battles and sieges in which his regiment was engaged. The hours of danger, the days of weary march, the longing for home, the association of comrades, the sharing of dangers, the fiery ordeal and trial of war, all prepared him for the stern duties that were his in later years. After the close of the war, Comrade Farrington resided at Iowa Falls and was a member of Post No. 141 of the Grand Army of the Republic. For fifty years after the war he taught lessons of patriotism and loyalty. From victories in war, he sought victories in peace, and labored for the best interests of his comrades. At the Forty-third Annual Encampment, held at Davenport in June, 1917, Comrade Farrington was elected Department Commander. He lived to attain the age of eighty,one, and died at his summer home in Wisconsin, on July 17, 1928.

Elmer J.C. Bealer  June 1918 to June 1919

In Vicksburg National Park a great monument has been erected in honor of the Iowa soldiers. In a very special sense this is, a monument to Elmer J. C. Bealer, for it was he who introduced into the Iowa legislature the bill to appropriate $150,000 for the erection of this great memorial. Bealer was born in Bern, Switzerland, in 1845, and came to America at an early age. In 1862, at the age of seventeen, he enlisted in Company A, Twenty,second Iowa Infantry. He was at the siege of Vicksburg, in the campaigns along the Red River and in the Shenandoah Valley, and in the spectacular battle of Cedar Creek, where a seeming defeat was turned into a decisive victory. Before he was twenty,one Bealer returned home having rendered three full years of good and efficient service to his country. In 1901 Mr. Bealer was elected to the Iowa legislature, where he served for three sessions and helped to pass legislation in the interest of the veterans, including the appropriation bill for the Vicksburg monument. In 1916 he was a member of the executive committee of the Vicksburg National jubilee Association and rendered valuable service. He was a member of Grand Army Post No. 235, at Cedar Rapids, and was elected Department Commander in 1918. Mr. Bealer died at his home in Cedar Rapids, on September 11, 1928.