Remembering Heroes

The Krause family in 1944. Pictured are the parents, Lena (left)
and John (right), with their three children, Florence, Murvin, and Louis. 

Since today was a day for remembering heroes, I thought it would be appropriate to highlight one of our hometown heroes in this week's TBT blog.

Murvin Krause served in the Army over seventy years prior to 9/11, at a time when a different generation of men and women answered the call to serve our country after it was attacked. Murvin was involved in heavy combat throughout his years in the service, and was recognized for his bravery and sacrifice following the war when he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.

The article below that appeared in the July 27, 1944 issue of The Raymond News, contains a letter that Murvin wrote to his parents, providing them with details about being wounded in action in France. Although he was injured, he referred to the incident as "a little bad luck," and expressed how anxious he was to return to the front lines as soon as possible.



Murvin was born on 11/11/11. He moved to Raymond from Nokomis in the spring of 1930. He married Grace Weerts on 11/29/47 at the Harvel Trinity Lutheran Church where they both were members. They had one daughter, Karen Krause Grove. Murvin farmed until his retirement in 1985. He died on 6/13/03 and is buried in Raymond City Cemetery.

Raymond's 125th Anniversary Book contains the following account of Murvin's experience in WWII:

Murvin Krause served in World War II, and made the invasion at Normandy. He was in the front line all during the war, and was in the Battle of the Bulge. After the war ended, he was in the Honors Guard at Hitler's headquarters until he returned home in September, 1945.

Following World War II, Murvin Krause received the Bronze Star Medal for "heroic achievement in action while serving with the Army of the United States, October 30, 1944, in the vicinity of Opheusden, Holland,where four men were seriously wounded and isolated from the unit. Pfc. Krause, realizing the importance of evacuating the men to a medical aid station, moved forward to aid in the evacuation. His route took him through a heavily mined area, subject to enemy observation, but he continued and reached the wounded men.

Krause entered the service March 24, 1942, at Scott Field, Belleville and was honorably discharged September 20, 1945 at Fort Sheridan. He served in Normandy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, England, and Austria. He was wounded twice, first in France in June, 1944, and in Holland in August, 1944. He received the Purple Heart for being wounded in action.

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A special thanks to my sister, Susan Lebeck, for providing the photo of the Krause family.