Image courtesy of Kurt Schroeder.
Alf Gundersen served during both World War I and World War II. During World War I, Gundersen enlisted with fellow classmates from the University of Wisconsin and trained at Camp McCoy. He recalled, "The pressure exerted on young men at the time of 1917 and 18 to join the United States Army was terrific." Gundersen was a gunner corporal in a field artillery unit stationed in France. As a result of serving in an artillery unit, Gundersen lost hearing in his left ear.
After the war, Gundersen attended Harvard Medical School and completed his internship and residency in surgery at Roosevelt Hospital in New York. In 1926, Gundersen married Carroll McCarty, and the couple settled in La Crosse, where he established the urological services at Gundersen Clinic. During World War II, Gundersen served as a major in a military hospital in Minnesota.
Gundersen's contributions to the area were numerous and diverse. He received national and international recognition for his innovative medical techniques and served as president of the Gundersen Clinic and later the Gundersen Medical Foundation. He and his wife Carroll donated the Gundersen farm for what became the Norskedalen Nature & Heritage Center, and he was active in supporting local educational and recreational activities.
Gundersen’s Eisenhower dress jacket, 2019.009.02, gift of Bill & Anita Doering.
