Ralf Hoifeldt


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Ralf Hoifeldt.


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In Service to Country - New and Old

By the time Ralf Høifeldt had to do military service the requisite period of training and service was eight months. He spent April through December 1950 in the Danish Coast Guard, but never dipped a toe in the water since he was assigned to be a clerk at headquarters in Copenhagen.

Ralf came to the U.S. in 1951 and then had to report to the Selective Service within six months. He received a draft notice in April 1952 and was sent to Ft. Riley, Kansas, for 16 weeks’ basic training. Then he found himself once again crossing the Atlantic, this time heading for Germany with the 42nd Field Artillery Battalion, where he served as a personnel clerk from October 1952 to March 1954. The picture in the jeep shows him during field maneuvers, when his entire office was dismantled and moved into tents. Following his discharge Ralf was able to use the G.I. Bill benefits to attend college for 4 years. He settled in the Des Moines area, and married and brought over his Danish sweetheart, Inga. Both are active volunteers with the Danish Immigrant Museum and at the Danish American Archives and Library in Blair, Nebraska.