{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases/north-dakota-family-receives-purple-heart-quilt-of-valor", "North Dakota Family Receives Purple Heart, Quilt of Valor", "2024-11-04", "2024", "2024-11", "Republican", "Senate", "ND", "Kevin Cramer", "C001096", "www.cramer.senate.gov", "cramer", "https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "***Click here for more media resources. Click here for audio.***\n\nBISMARCK, N.D. \u2013 The Missouri River Quilts of Valor (MRQV) hosted a ceremony today to recognize a North Dakota family for its military service.\n\nU.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) presented a replacement Purple Heart medal to honor the sacrifice of the family\u2019s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Private Franklin Joseph DuFrame, who gave his life in service to the nation in World War II. This replaces a previous Purple Heart awarded to Pvt. DuFrame, which had been lost.\n\nCramer, a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services and the Senate Committee on Veterans\u2019 Affairs, presented the Purple Heart medal to Pvt. DuFrame\u2019s son, Donald Franklin DuFrame of Lincoln, also a veteran, who enlisted in the Navy Reserve at 18 as a machinist mate 3rd class during the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1967. He was based in LPD-1 at Portsmouth, VA. Cramer also presented the family with a flag flown over the United States Capitol in honor of Pvt. DuFrame\u2019s heroic service.\n\n\u201cThe Purple Heart is a tangible legacy to the heroic service and selfless sacrifice of Franklin DuFrame during WWII,\u201d said Cramer. \u201cIt was important that we obtain this replacement medal that Franklin earned and Don desperately sought as a tribute and connection to the father he never knew. The medal symbolizes incredible sacrifice, and it is important we never forget the gravity of that sacrifice and ensure that future generations know the real price of freedom.\u201d\n\nThe ceremony also included the presentation of the Vietnam War Commemorative Lapel Pin to recognize Donald DuFrame\u2019s service, and a Quilt of Valor made by MRQV members. A Quilt of Valor is a handmade quilt awarded to a service member or veteran who has been \u201ctouched by war.\u201d\n\n\u201cI see in this Purple Heart how my dad gave his life for our country and our freedoms,\u201d said Donald DuFrame. \u201cThis recognition is so overwhelming, and having this medal means a lot to me and my family. I have more information about my dad now than I have had my entire life.\u201d\n\nAlice Delzer, AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary president and chaplain, delivered the invocation at the event, which was followed by a Posting of the Colors by the AMVETS Post #9 Honor Guard. The event featured opening remarks by MRQV group leader, Arlene Meissel, and Alice Delzer led the attendees in singing \u201cGod Bless America.\u201d\n\nDonald DuFrame, his daughter, Shananne DuFrame, and his granddaughter, Breeanna DuFrame, attended the ceremony, along with other family members. Breeanna reached out to Cramer\u2019s office in June requesting assistance with obtaining a replacement for a lost Purple Heart medal originally awarded to her great-grandfather, Franklin. Breeanna, who is very close to her grandfather, Donald, knew he had been searching for this medal and wanted to help him obtain a replacement.\n\n\u201cI never thought we would have gotten this far and found out as much as we have about Franklin,\u201d said Breeanna DuFrame. \u201cMy grandpa [Donald DuFrame] is my entire world. I don\u2019t know where I would be without him or my mom. I\u2019m so thankful we were able to make this happen for Grandpa. We are so appreciative of everything you and your team have done to make this possible for my grandpa. I cannot express how thankful and grateful I am.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am so grateful for everyone that has put efforts into this, and for my dad [Donald DuFrame] to have this opportunity in his lifetime to have something so precious and dear in remembrance of his dad [Franklin DuFrame] and his service and dedication to our freedoms,\u201d said Shananne DuFrame. \u201cI am so super proud of my daughter, Breeanna, for pursuing this. We thank you so very much! We\u2019ve gotten so much more information about my grandpa, when we never thought we\u2019d know much of anything.\u201d\n\nBorn in August 1920 in Maine, Pvt. Franklin DuFrame served in the U.S. Army, C Company, 10th Infantry Battalion, 4th Armored Division. He was married to Elma Leona Helman DuFrame, and they had three children.\n\nOn March 24, 1945, he was wounded in action and transported to an evacuation hospital in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. Pvt. DuFrame died of his wounds two days later on March 26 at the age of 24. He was temporarily interned at the military cemetery in Stromberg and permanently laid to rest, at his family\u2019s request, at the Lorraine American War Cemetery in France.\n\nPrior to Breeanna DuFrame\u2019s outreach to Cramer\u2019s office, the family knew very little about Pvt. DuFrame\u2019s service beyond the date of his death and final resting place. His service records were among those lost in the National Personnel Records Center fire in St. Louis.\n\nCramer\u2019s office received a 44-page copy of the formal report of Franklin\u2019s death and a copy of an inventory of his belongings, in addition to correspondence between the Department of the Army, his wife, Elma, and Pvt. DuFrame\u2019s father regarding the final resting place for his remains. In addition, a photo of Pvt. DuFrame was added to a Fields of Honor database recognizing fallen American service members, and his grave has been adopted by a local resident who will be responsible for its care and maintenance.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T22:07:06Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases/north-dakota-family-receives-purple-heart-quilt-of-valor"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.739469986408949, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}