Robert Francis Krayenhagen
April 13, 1924-March 18, 1945
Contributed by Marcia Jensen

    Robert was the sixth child and second son of John Krayenhagen and Margaret Welsh Krayenhagen. He was born when the family was living near Oxford Junction, IA and was just an infant when his sister, Margaret Mary, was burned to death in an accident at home.

    Robbie was part of the younger group of children (Robbie, Tee, and Nora) and was especially close to these two younger girls. He hated school, and was always dreading the buzzing of the locusts which signaled the progression of the summer and the proximity of the new school year. He along with the other Krayenhagen children attended one room schools, and in some of them, they were the majority of the students. He graduated from the 8^th grade and did not continue his schooling, preferring to farm and do carpentry work with his father.

    Robb would not have had to go to war because he was a farmer. However, he was “hell-bent on going,” according to his brother, Jack. He was inducted into the 156^th combat engineers’ corps at Camp Dodge in 1944. As often happens, he didn’t much like the service once he was there.

    He was killed when a munitions dump at which he was working exploded in Mindoro Island, Philippines. He was first buried in the Philippines. After the war ended he was disinterred and sent back to the states. He was finally returned to his family in Clinton, IA and a funeral Mass was held at St. Mary’s Church in Clinton. He is buried in the family plot at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in DeWitt, IA.