Charles R. Knaeble entered military service before the start of World War II. The son of Mr. & Mrs. Charles Knaeble of Crystal, MN, he entered the Army in Feb. 1941. When the attack on Pearl Harbor took place months later, it was the standard "Duration and Six Months". He was in the Invasion of North Africa in 1942, the invasion of Sicily in 1943, saw duty in England for awhile and then the D-Day Invasion of France on June 6, 1944. During the invasion, Charles was a tank turret gunner. In August of 1944, Charles was killed in battle in Percy, France when his tank was hit by German artillery.

Originally, the Charles Knaeble VFW Post 494, was named after Spanish American War veteran, Hugo Hartig, during ceremonies performed on March 28th, 1931. The first Auxiliary was for formed in 1931, just 3 months after the VFW post was formed. Because of an error, however, the Post was not registered with the State Dept. of VFW's. In 1947, Commander Orville Danielson registered the post as "Charles R. Knaeble Post 494" as an honor to the young man killed during World War II.

Today, the Charles R. Knaeble VFW Post 494, is known for it's civic projects including the "Avenue of Flags" at Glenhaven Cemetery in Crystal. On each Memorial Day personal burial flags of veterans are flown from flagpoles. The Club also sponsors a "Voice of Democracy" program, Patriotic Art Program, "Patriots Pen", The "National Home For Children", Cancer Aid & Research, "Buddy Poppy Month", "Loyalty Day", and Firearms Safety, plus "The Cooties" work at hospitals and many other civic projects for our, and area, communities.