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100 year old veteran Al Kraft was a guy from Strasburg, North Dakota that had been shooting guns since he was a little boy so the military made him a shooting instructor during World War II.
Kraft grew up in the small town of Strasburg, North Dakota working many jobs including helping his father with work in the family store.
When he entered high school, World War II was just breaking out in Europe and he was ready to serve his country in the military.
“When I was 15 or 16 years old, they had a program out at Fort Lincoln, where youngsters like me could come and take military training in the summertime when school was out,” explained Kraft. “I came 2 years in row, so I had military instruction before and I liked it.”
The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 would bring the United States into the war as Kraft was finishing up his last year in high school.
He enlisted in the United States Air Force on December 14, 1942 and after basic training, Kraft was sent to Tyndall Field, Florida to train as an aerial gunner.
He explained that the military made him a marksmanship instructor, because of his expert shooting skills. “I’ve been shooting since I was a kid. Most of the people that were in there never had a gun in their hand in all their lives and they needed a lot of training.”
He recalls that many of the men he trained in his company would not make it home and the
memory of their service deeply remains with him today. “Everybody was giving themselves to do whatever they could for the better to protect our country,” said Kraft.
During the ceremony, Kraft spoke humbly of his service and expressed, “I don’t think I was better than anybody else. I thought the thing to do when the war started was to serve my country because it was my duty to do so.”
Kraft was also presented with a hand-made Quilt of Valor, that his family wrapped around him to show their appreciation for his service.