KAMRAR SOLDIER AWARDED BRONZE STAR;
AT OKINAWA
Cpl. Elfred Trampel, son of Joseph Trampel of Kamrar, has been awarded the bronze star medal for heroic achievement in the battle of Okinawa Shima, according to a news release from headquarters, Tenth Army, San Francisco, Cal.
A driver in the 776th amphibian tank battalion, Corporal Trampel was cited for transporting vitally needed radio supplies to a forward artillery observation post. He was injured in performance of the mission, but has returned to duty after a period of medical treatment.
Corporal Trampel fought in the Leyte campaign in the Philippines before going to the Ryukyus. His wife, Ruby, lives in Salinas, Cal. Prior to induction in the Army in July, 1941, Corporal Trampel farmed with his father.
Source: Daily Freeman Journal, June 13, 1945
Obituary:
Elferd E. Trampel, 70, Webster City, died Tuesday, Sept. 19, 1989 at Crestview Manor Care Center in Webster City. Funeral services will be held Saturday, Sept. 23 at 2 p.m. at the Foster Funeral Home. Merlin Silverthorn officiating. Burial will be in the Cass Center Cemetery. There will be no visitation. Memorials in Mr. Trampel's memory will be used at the family's discretion.
Elferd Earl Trampel, son of Joseph and Jenny Greenfield Trampel, was born Nov. 19, 1918, in Liberty Township, Hamilton County. He attended Liberty Township No. 8 rural schools, and Kamrar High School. He farmed in the Kamrar area before serving with the U.S. Army in the South Pacific during World War II. He returned to Kamrar where he farmed. He married Mary Jane Coleman Eberhart on Aug. 21, 1949, in Webster City. The couple continued to farm in the Kamrar area for 10 years before moving to Webster City, where he drove a school bus for the Webster City Community Schools for 20 years.
He is survived by his wife, Mary, Webster City; three sons and one daughter, David Eberhart, Mission, Kan.; Dennis Trampel, Kansas City; Donna (Mrs. Michael) Wynn, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Danny Trampel, Naperville, Ill.; 10 grandchildren; one brother and three sisters, Lester Trampel, Webster City; Edna (Mrs. Ronald) Twedt, Ellsworth; Lola (Mrs. Arling) Erickson and Ila (Mrs. Truman) Twedt, both of Radcliffe; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his step-mother, Martha Merrit; a son, Joseph Trampel; and a sister, Elma Van Loh.
Mr. Trampel was affiliated with the Jehovah's Witnesses, and was a member of the Disabled American Veterans.
Source: Daily Freeman Journal, September 1989
