Early Years Michael Stanley Krystofek came into the world on 5 September 1907, in Peru, Illinois—a small city along the Illinois River—the fifth child of Polish immigrants Stanley and Sophia Krystofek. His parents had made the long journey from Poland to America in the 1890s, married in LaSalle County in February 1897, and built a life rooted in hard work and family. By the time Michael arrived, he already had four older siblings: Joseph, Mary, John, and Anthony. The family would eventually grow to nine children, with the arrivals of Frances, Josephine, Anna, and finally young Stanley in 1919. The…
Tag: Peru
PVT Leonard Irving Howarth, Service No. 36672551
Leonard Irving Howarth was born on 6 February 1925, in Peru, Illinois, the fourth son of Thomas Sheldon Howarth and Johanna Fitzpatrick Howarth. The family Leonard was born into was a blend of two immigrant traditions. His paternal grandparents had come to America from England in the years following the Civil War, while his maternal grandparents, the Fitzpatricks, were the first American-born generation of Irish families that had crossed the Atlantic in the mid-1800s—part of the great wave of Irish emigrants still fleeing the aftermath of the Famine years. Leonard’s father, Thomas, was a veteran of World War I who…
PFC Milton Joseph Haas, Service No. 36371784
Milton Joseph Haas came into the world on a summer day, 19 August 1917, in West Brooklyn, a small community in Lee County, Illinois. He was the second son of Martin and Anna (Graf) Haas joining his older brother Ivan, who had been born three years earlier in 1914. When Milton was still a toddler, the family relocated to Peru, Illinois, settling into a rented home at 2019 Second Street. Martin found steady work as a mechanic at a local garage. Milton attended St. Joseph’s parochial school, where the rhythms of Catholic faith and community shaped his early character. From…
SGT Everett Charles Gosnell, Service No. 36323623
Sergeant Everett Charles Gosnell was born on 20 July 1907, in Kingsley, Kansas, to William and Nancy Jane (Noe) Gosnell. The couple had married in January 1900 in Green County, Kentucky, and eventually moved to Illinois, where they raised their family. In 1910, Everett was living with his parents, two older brothers, and an older sister in San Jose Village, Mason County, Illinois. His father worked as a section laborer for the Chicago & Alton Railroad, later the Alton Railroad – a position that perhaps drove the family to relocate over the next ten years to Toluca, Illinois. At some…
PVT Valentine Garncarz, Service No. 36479149
Valentine “Val” Garncarz was born on 22 October 1924, in LaSalle, Illinois, the second son of Valentine F. and Belanda (Murawski) Garncarz. At the time of Valentine’s birth, his parents were living at 1107 Fifth Street in Peru with their two older children, Theresa and Anthony. Valentine’s father and namesake worked as a clerk for the railroad. In 1926, when Val was three years old, his grandfather John Garncarz passed away. In the wake of that loss, the family moved in with John’s widow, Mary, at 608 Plain Street in Peru. In 1931, Valentine’s sister Mary was born. As a…
PFC John Goletz, Service No. 16016241
John J. Goletz was born on 28 February 1918, to Frank and Catherine Goletz in Peru, Illinois. John’s father, Frank, immigrated to the U.S. in 1906 from Dulcza Wielka, Poland, while his mother, Catherine “Katie” (née Mikus), was born in Illinois. She was the daughter of Anton and Anna Mikus, who came to the United States from Poland during the late 19th century. In 1920, John and his family lived at 317 Helena Street in Peru, where Frank worked as a coal miner to support the growing household. By 1930, the family had moved to a home on 321 Ninth…
CPL Frederick J Breuning, Service No. 16030904
Frederick John Breuning was born on 31 May 1916, in Peru, Illinois, to John and Irene (Koehler) Breuning. Three years after his parents married on 18 June 1913, they welcomed Frederick, their only child. John and Irene provided for their family by operating a grocery store at 1612 Fifth Street. Frederick’s childhood was enriched by a close-knit family, including his maternal grandfather, Fred Koehler, a well-known local contractor who had built many of the city’s prominent buildings, including the Peru fire station and the Masonic Temple. Frederick attended Peru’s elementary schools and went on to LaSalle-Peru Township High School, where…
PFC Ladislaus Anthony Zawacki, Service No. 36696116
Ladislaus “Lad” Zawacki was born on 25 July 1912, in Peru, Illinois, to George and Anna (Kotecki) Zawacki. His parents were both life-long residents of Peru who had married the year before his birth. The couple had two sons following Lad’s birth: Edward who was born in 1918 and Raymond, born in 1923. Tragically, when Lad was 13, his brother Raymond passed away at the age of two due to broncho-pneumonia. Growing up in Peru, Lad attended the local grade school and lived a modest life. By 1930, his parents had purchased a home at 1803 Pulaski Street, where Lad,…
PFC Adolph Edward Yagodich, Service No. 0849923
Birth and Early Life Adolph Edward Yagodich was born on 8 January 1919, in Peru, Illinois, to George and Mary (Remsek) Yagodich. His father, George, was an immigrant from Yugoslavia, arriving in America in 1907. His mother, Mary, was from Austria and arrived in the U.S. in 1913. The couple married in January 1914, and by December of that year, Adolph’s older brother Theodore was born. Two years later, his older sister Sophia joined the family. Initially, the Yagodich family resided in LaSalle on Third Street while George worked as a miner. They later moved to a home they owned…
TEC5 Edward William Sell, Service No. 36312542
Edward William Sell was born on 13 September 1915, in Peru, Illinois, to Max and Anna (Fitzsimmons) Sell. Edward’s father Max was a German-born immigrant who traveled to the U.S. as a young boy with his parents and sister and brother. Edward’s mother was born in Illinois. Max and Anna married in Peru on 7 August 1907. As a young boy Edward lived in a home his parents rented at 1409 Pulaski street in Peru with his three sisters, two older and one younger, and two younger brothers. His father was an electrical engineer at the local Zinc Works for…