Raphael Louis Zengel (11 November 189427 February 1977) was an American-born

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recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

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and

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forces.

Early life

Zengel was born at

Faribault, Minnesota Faribault ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 23,352 at the 2010 census. Faribault is approximately south of Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highways ...

. As a young boy, he and his mother Mary moved to a homestead near the village of

Plunkett, Saskatchewan Plunkett ( 2021 population: ) is a special service area in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Viscount No. 341 and Census Division No. 11. It held village status between 1921 and 2022. History Plunkett in ...

. He enlisted in the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

in July 1915.

Victoria Cross

Zengel received the Military Medal in March 1918 for taking command of his platoon when his officer and sergeant had been put out of action. He was 23 years old, and a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

of the 5th (Western Cavalry) Battalion,

, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when on 9 August 1918 east of

Warvillers Warvillers is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Warvillers is situated 21 miles(33 km) southeast of Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northe ...

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, he performed the deed for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. The citation reads:

Retirement

After the war, Zengel lived in

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, where he joined the

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in 1919 and served until 1927. Sergeant Zengel spent most of the rest of his life in the town

Rocky Mountain House Rocky Mountain House is a town in west-central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately west of Red Deer at the confluence of the Clearwater and North Saskatchewan Rivers, and at the crossroads of Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail) and Highway 11 (David Th ...

, where the local branch of the

Royal Canadian Legion The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization (veterans' organization) founded in 1925. Membership includes people who have served as military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, Royal ...

has been named in his honour. He donated his Victoria Cross to the Rocky Mountain House Legion where it is kept in a safety box.VC Burials Canada
/ref> and only a replica of his Victoria Cross along with the rest of his medals are on display. His headstone can be found at Pine Grove Cemetery, Rocky Mountain House, Canada. RaphaelZengelGrave

Legacy

In 1936, the government of Canada chose to name a lake in northeastern

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

in Zengel's honour. Inexplicably, the feature became Zengle Lake, and so it remains today (2007). In 1951, one of the mountains of the

Victoria Cross Range The Victoria Cross Ranges ( to ) are a set of mountain ranges in the Canadian Rockies, located to the northwest of Jasper. Of the 19 peaks contained within this range, five are named after Canadian recipients of the Victoria Cross. The area of the ...

, in Jasper National Park, was named in his honour. Mount Zengel is visible from

Highway 16 Route 16, or Highway 16, can refer to: International * Asian Highway 16 * European route E16 * European route E016 Australia - Thompsons Road (Victoria) - South Australia Canada ;Parts of the Trans-Canada Highway: * Yellowhead ...

, east of Jasper, Alberta.

References

External links

Raphael Zengel's digitized service file

Legion Magazine
* List of Canadian Victoria Cross recipients {{DEFAULTSORT:Zengel, Raphael Louis 1894 births 1977 deaths Canadian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Canadian recipients of the Military Medal Canadian military personnel of World War I People from Faribault, Minnesota American emigrants to Canada Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers Military personnel from Minnesota