Sergeant Joseph Cornelius Zuraff was born on 29 June 1917, in Monroe, South Dakota to Cornelius Thomas (nickname Neal) and Cecilia Zuraff. He attended grade school at Spring Valley in Monroe. His teacher from 1928-1929 was Connie VerSteog. He had four brothers and one sister. His brothers’ names were Bernard, Gene, Jim, and Ray. His sister’s name was Irene. Joseph was married. He also had a dog named Winky. He enlisted in the Army in 1941.  He was Killed-in-Action in Germany on 12 March 1945.  Daniel Zuraff, Joseph’s nephew said: “Before my father died he gave me Joseph’s flag and his Purple Heart and a picture of him when he enlisted, he also gave me his middle name, Cornelius, that I’m proud of.” (Information provided by Jeroen Horbach.)