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IOWA — Flags will be lowered across the State of Iowa on Saturday as the remains of an Iowa soldier killed in France during World War II are laid to rest.

PFC Raymond Schlamp was last seen alive on September 11th, 1944 when he his unit came under heavy fire from German forces outside of Dornot, France. Schlamp was presumed to be among those killed but the remains of he and his fellow soldiers couldn’t be recovered due to the continued intense fighting. Eventually, after the conclusion of the war in 1947, the remains of several Americans were recovered. In March 2022, the Department of Defense was able to identify a portion of those remains as Schlamp. His family was just recently given a full briefing.

Schlamp, a 28-year-old from Dubuque, was serving in Company G, 2nd Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division at the onset of the Lorraine Campaign in northern France. Allied forces were attempting to cross the Moselle River near the German border, an attempt that would eventually fail. Schlamp and his fellow soldiers became pinned down by heavy gunfire in an area known as the “Horseshoe Woods”. According to the DOD, Schlamp was injured by machinegun fire and left behind as soldiers retreated. By the time the fighting subsided and the area was searched again, his remains couldn’t be positively identified among those found dead. More than 6,000 Allied troops were killed in the three month Lorraine campaign.

Private Schlamp will be laid to rest on Saturday in Dubuque following a celebration of life ceremony at the Lawrence Community Center in Anamosa. Governor Reynolds has asked that flags be lowered to half-staff in honor of Schlamp’s sacrifice for his country.