This kit belonged to Lieutenant Ira Baer of the 337th Field Infantry. At home, sewing and mending would have been done by his family’s Swiss servant, Susan Knabenhans, but on the battlefield, the holes in Ira’s socks and the rips in his uniform would have been his responsibility alone. The kit contains thread, needles, pins, buttons, and iron-on patches.

Ira returned from the war to work as an assistant cashier at the St. Paul branch of American National Bank, where his father was president. Later he managed a furniture store run by his brother, Fernand.