Welcome!

  My name is Will Carlson, and I am a native of Delavan, having grown up in Delavan Township. I graduated from Delavan-Darien High School with the class of 1971.

On March of 1972, I entered the U.S. Army at Fort Ord, CA where I received basic training. After basic, I was assigned to Fort Jackson, SC where I attended Advanced Infantry School specializing in Anti-Tank Heavy Weapons.

After AIT, I was stationed in Berlin, Germany from September 1972 to March 1975 during the height of the Cold War. While I was in Berlin, we had various duties such as Wall Patrol, Guarding Rudolf Hess in Spandau Prison, guarding the Berlin Brigade Headquarters, and of course, studying the Russian Army’s tactics and equipment.

I am a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a BBA in Business Administration. I have worked in finance and management during my career.

I am a 50-year member of the Delavan American Legion and a Lifetime member of the Delavan-Darien VFW Post.

I first became involved in working with disabled veterans by. volunteering as a ski instructor during the winter of 1998-1999 helping folks learn how to ski or getting them back into skiing after injury. Along with skiing, about 10 years ago I started helping with the adaptive biking program out of the SCI clinic in Milwaukee. Last year it was through Erin and Sam that I learned about Veterans Afield and their trap shooting and hunting events, which piqued my interest as a future endeavor since I had been an avid hunter and had shot in different trap leagues many years ago. What I did not realize is that I would transition from being a volunteer at the SCI clinic in skiing and biking to being a patient after an accident last November where I fractured three vertebras in my neck. Fortunately, I can still walk, but I have new limitations on my physical activities.  It was at Veterans Afield this year that I met Pat who encouraged me to go ahead and get back into trap shooting after a 50-year layoff. He was right that after a couple of sessions on the trap line, it came back to me just like riding a bicycle. Another old sport I am excited to get back into this fall is pheasant hunting, which I haven’t done in about 50 years. Since my accident, I am supposed to walk as much as possible which means walking in the field should be perfect for my rehab.

My wife, Marcia and I are both retired and living out in the country in Delavan Township. We have two boys Steve, his wife Gili, and daughter Razi, living in Los Angles, and Kris, who lives in Nashville.