Obituary for Alfred Fred "Bud" Knaack Alfred F. "Bud" Knaack, 90, of rural Kingsley, Iowa, passed away on Sunday, October 11, 2015 at the Correctionville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Funeral services will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 15, 2015 at the Rock Branch United Methodist Church, rural Correctionville, Iowa. Rev. Janet Rieckhoff-Faris will officiate. Burial will follow at the Fairfield Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at the Johnson – Earnest Funeral Home in Kingsley. The family will be present from 6-8 p.m. with a prayer service at 7:00 p.m. There will also be one hour of visitation at the church prior to the funeral service on Thursday.

Alfred F. "Bud" Knaack was born May 2, 1925, 1 mile west & 1 mile north of Rock Branch, the son of Vollrath F. Knaack and Wilhelmina (Rock) Knaack. He was educated in the Woodbury County rural schools. The school he attended was located on the SW corner of the farm he lived on. He graduated from Pierson Consolidated High School in 1941.

Between graduation from high school and August of 1943, he worked as a hired farm hand for local farmers; and in his spare time had a radio repair shop in the back of part of Brody's Drug Store in Pierson.

In August of 1943, he was drafted into the U. S. Army. He was inducted at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan.; received basic training at Camp Dodge, IA.; Military Police training at Ft. Riley, Kansas; and Engineers Schooling at City College (CCNY) in New York City. The schooling was cancelled because of the war and he went on Infantry Maneuvers in Louisiana, Texas and Kentucky. He was then shipped overseas for duty in Europe in 1944.

He received the Purple Heart for the wounds he received at the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest at Aachen, Germany in October 1944, where he lost his right eye, spending time in hospitals in Belgium and England. When he returned to duty after months of recuperation, he was sent to Armed Forces Communication Network European Theatre (AFCNET) where he helped operate and repair radio stations in Munich, Germany; Paris, France; and Frankfurt, Germany. In Frankfurt he was stationed at Eisenhower's headquarters. In his later years, he was fond of saying that Eisenhower and Truman could not talk to each other until he "flipped the switch". He was the chief radio technician in the European theatre and was sent to various parts of Europe during and after the war to maintain the radios and transmitters until his honorable discharge in April 1946. He was offered a promotion if he would stay in Europe. He declined the promotion saying, "I just want to go home." At one time he was asked to be in Eisenhower's Honor Guard. He turned it down, preferring to stay in the Signal Corp. He also received the Good Conduct Medal, Combat Infantry Badge and the Bronze Star. He received the Bronze Star in 1978 when he read that his unit qualified.

Following his return to civilian life he teamed up with Fred Peterson of Pierson and Carl Hageman of Correctionville, two local electricians, wiring farmsteads in the Pierson-Correctionville area for the incoming of the Rural Electrification Program (R.E.A.).

Alfred started farming on a family farm 6 miles south of Kingsley on March 1, 1948, where he lived until December of 2014 when he entered the Correctionville Nursing Home.

He married Rhoda Donahue in Moville on December 27, 1951. She passed away in February 1998.

Alfred was a member of the Rock Branch United Methodist Church and had served on the Administration Board. He served 12 years (part of the time as President) on the Board of Directors of the Farmers Co-op Elevator of Pierson-Correctionville-Washta. He was a member of the Steering Committee for the new Kingsley-Pierson School. Alfred was a 45-year member of the International Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) Lodge # 625, Pierson & Encampment #44 Sioux City, at one time holding the office of District Deputy Grand Master. He belonged to the Pierson American Legion Harrison F. Pedersen Post #291, and was a member of the Disabled American Veterans. For 10 years in the 1950's to early 1960's he was the official reporter of rainfall on the Wolf Creek (which ran through his farm) for the Army Corp of Engineers. He also did some of his own photo developing. After he retired from farming, he taught himself to play the guitar and banjo and did some woodworking. He also spent many evenings playing his harmonica and he enjoyed spending time with his family.

Alfred's education, besides the CCNY, included 3 years of G.I. Night School of Agriculture Classes from Iowa State University Extension. He took two correspondence courses from National Radio Institute (N.R.I.) in the construction, maintenance & repair of both radio and television. In the 1960's Alfred operated a TV/radio repair shop out of his home. He closed it when it took too much time away from his farming operation.

Alfred was a pioneer in the area in using the latest methods of soil conservation practices. In the 1950's he received much razzing from well-meaning relatives, friends, & neighbors about his contoured corn rows, terraces and grass water ways. He was always eager to read and learn of new methods of conserving the soil and also new methods of storing grain. In 1970 he went to the drying & storing of shelled corn on the farm, leaving behind the old method of storing ear corn in the cribs.

His most treasured memory was when he, and his nephew Jim Mitchell (along with son John), returned to Europe in 2003 and retraced the steps he had taken during his tour of duty during the war. They traveled to Utah and Omaha Beaches, Paris, France; Munich and Aachen, Germany and other places of interest. With the help of a local tour guide, he located his foxhole in the Hurtgen Forest where he had been wounded in 1944. The tour guide in Aachen still tells tourists about Alfred's story of finding his foxhole. Alfred's story which he wrote himself, is part of the Veterans History Project in the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, Iowa.

He is survived by one daughter, Patricia of Kingsley; six sons: Bill (Becky) of Poteet, TX; John (Maggie) of Burnsville, MN; Jeff (Vicki) of Correctionville, IA; Charles (Susan) of Cushing, IA; Robert (and fiancé Rachael) of Iowa City; Phillip (Sue) of Palatine, IL.; 10 grandchildren: James (Rosie) Knaack of Seoul, South Korea; David (Angela) Knaack of Elkhorn, NE.; Joshua (Kelly) Knaack of Sioux City, IA; Michelle Knaack of Dakota City, NE., Jennifer Knaack of Omaha, NE; Aaron, Allyson, & Andrew Knaack of Iowa City, IA; Monica Knaack of Grinnell, IA & Greg Knaack of Burnsville, MN.; 8 great-grandchildren: Connor, Kira, Dawson, Chianna, and Garrick Knaack of Elkhorn, NE.; Corben & Alexander Knaack of Sioux City & Samuel Knaack of Iowa City; and many nieces and nephews.

Alfred is preceded in death by his parents and his wife; two brothers: Chris and one in infancy; three sisters: Leona Knaack, Alma Mitchell, and Gladys Holtkamp; a niece Jane Mitchell Devany; and a nephew Larry Knaack.

The family is grateful for the care he received at the Correctionville Nursing Home and would like to thank the staff at Hope Harbor (Buena Vista Hospital), and Hospice of Siouxland for their care. Memorials may be directed to Rock Branch United Methodist Church, Drawer L, Anthon, IA 51004.

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