Corporal Philip F Knauff was born on November 1, 1921, in Chicago, Cook County Illinois. He was the son of Ralph E. Knauff and Sarah Veronica “Vera” Kelly. Corporal Knauff had one brother, James R Knauff. He died on May 8, 1945, in Germany at the age of 23. He is buried at Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, Lorraine France.

While a resident in Renovo, he lived at 128 10th Street Renovo, PA, the Kelly/ Knauff homestead where James and his family lived until James’s death in 2002. He attended St. Joseph’s School in Renovo, playing football and in the band.

Philip was a member of the 527th Fighter Squadron, 86th Fighter Group and was awarded Battle Honors because of a citation to the Fighter Group. The Fighter Group was awarded Battle Honors for their outstanding performance of duty in action against the enemy in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations on May 25, 1944.

According to his nephew, Butch Knauff, Phillip and three others were drinking wine and celebrating the end of the war in the European theatre. The wine contained antifreeze and he and three others died drinking it. On May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Western Allies at Reims and on May 9 to the Soviets in Berlin. How sad since the war in the European theatre ended when Germany surrendered, and the peace treaty went into effect on May 9, 1945. He died in Germany and was buried in France. The war in the Pacific theatre continued for a few more months until the Japanese surrendered following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on September 2, 1945.