Sergeant Michael Joe Krug US Army

Bronze Star with “V” Device and Oak Leaf Cluster

Michael Joe Krug was born June 22, 1945 in Harlingen TX to Edwin and Irene Krug. The family later moved to Kingman Kansas where Mike graduated from Kingman HS in 1963. Shortly after graduating from HS the family moved to Farmington NM where Mike attended Ft Lewis College and then NMSU Farmington were Mike withdrew in the in the Spring of 1966. He was then inducted into the US Army and by January 1967, was in country as part of “A” Company, 3rd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. The unit was positioned in Kien Hoa Province IV Corps (Mekong Delta) to develop the tactics for riverine warfare. The unit was billeted aboard converted WWII LST’s called APB’s (Amphibious Propelled Barracks). Troops would be transported to select operational areas aboard craft that served as floating armored personnel carriers. Trapping the Viet Cong in this terrain proved to be a difficult task. On 2 May during operations in the Ap Bac Secret Zone, Sergeant Krug would earn his first Bronze Star with the Valor device for bravery in the face of the enemy. In September 1967 the unit took part in Operation Coronado V. The aim was to shut down Viet Cong strongholds in the Mekong Delta. On 30 September near the end of the operation Sergeant Michael Joe Krug was killed in action, earning his second Bronze Star. His body was recovered and today is buried in the Wilson Cemetery in Kingman County KS. Sergeant Michael Joe Krug was 22 years old at the time of his death in service to his nation.