BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE PICTURES OF THE KNAPP "CASTLE," the home of Edwin's grandparents. It was built by the Knapp family. The photos were generously shared by Sue Eisenstein. 5/1/2013
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PLAQUE AT KNAPP RANCH PARK
"Knapp Park - Named in memory of Edwin Frank Knapp, 1923-1944"
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REMBRANCES FROM HIS BEST FRIEND, ELMER CARTER IN SCHOOL:
.."Eddie was an only child. His dad was Frank Knapp and his mom was Florinda. He was tall and very handsome. His body was not returned until after the war.
..Eddie & I had to attend summer school the year we graduated to learn our multiplication tables. They attended Canoga Elem & H.S. He excelled in sports, track and football. Eddie's mom was Portuguese and had black wavy hair. His dad had sandy colored hair.
..Eddie was born on Columbus Day! He played tight end, football and we ditched school and went to the beach.
..As boys, we dug caves, one at each of their homes were about 6 ft. square. Eddie's had an entry area and nothing over the top. We smoked grapevines, dried ones.
..In winter we smudged orange trees to keep the trees and fruit from freezing, bunking in a shed with a heater for 2 years during H.S."
[Elmer Carter 5/2011 - Nan #471005584]
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THE KNAPPS OF CANOGA PARK
..I just came across your very remarkable memorial to Edwin Knapp by coincidence. I also attended Canoga Park Elementary School; however, I was born at the end of the war in November 1945. My uncle, in the Air Force and also a young man, was killed just two months after Edwin Knapp. What I want to tell you is that I frequently passed their old house, built like a stone castle on Owensmouth in Canoga Park and was disapointed when it was torn down, the lot I believe still empty.
..Never really knew much about the original owner of the "castle" except that I had heard he came from Austria or Switzerland and their name was Knapp. There was also a Knapp's grocery store on Sherman Way where we shopped in the 50's and I believe there were other Knapps closer to my age, perhaps relatives.
..The Knapp "castle" was on Owensmouth between Sherman Way and Saticoy, a two lane road at the time and lined with tall palm trees. The house always had a kind of mysterious look about it, set back from the street surrounded by trees and possibly a rock wall - don't quite remember that part. It was on a large corner lot, Cohasset and Owensmouth. I passed it frequently.
[Carol Jones DeMars 6/8/2011] - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTE: Carol has provided context and texture to the Knapp family and early Canoga Park (aka Owensmouth). The Knapp "castle" was located at 7511 Owensmouth Avenue; it was the home of Edwin's grandparents, Frank and Mary (Meixner) Knapp, Sr. Edwin and his parents, Frank and Florindia (Olive) Knapp, Jr., lived about two blocks away at 7352 Remmet Ave. Frank Sr. and several of his sons were skilled craftsmen in stone masonry and cement work. The Knapp's grocery store probably was (or became) a Safeway located at 21425 Sherman Way; Eddie's uncle, Max Carl Knapp was the manager. [vp 6/8/2011]
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A COUSIN BY MARRIAGE
After his death, Edwin's father kept his car. He would sometimes polish parts of it, otherwise it just sat parked. [Gary Nielsen, 2011]
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THE CASTLE
I found this article as I was searching for a picture of the castle mentioned in your article. I grew up across the street from the castle on the SW corner of Owensmouth and Cohassett. My family still owns that house although the castle is long gone. I have many memories of that castle. As a child I spent many hours exploring the grounds, with permission from the owner, Mary Knapp Munk (sp?). There was a giant butterfly in the yard that I used to climb all over. I remember the giant marbles placed all over as decorations. I also remember there was a dungeon that was toward the back of the house with a jail type door. My best friend and I would explore the yard with its many statues and plants and make up stories. It was like an adventure to us. The Cohassett side of the wall had a little house attached to it that one of my friends grandparents lived in. Between that house and the castle wall was a arched sign that I've often thought of and have always wondered about. It said simply: Sun ~ Went. To this day, I can picture that sign and I wonder if their was story behind those two words. I only remember entering the castle once, and it was after Mary had passed. The renters were having a Halloween party. I wish now I had taken pictures of that Canoga Park landmark. I talked to many fellow Canoga Parkan's who have memories of it but no one seems to have pictures. Now, when I visit the old neighborhood, I see with my eyes an empty lot but with my mind, the old mysterious Knapp castle. [sue.eisenstein 9/6/2012]
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COUSIN OF EDWIN KNAPP
..Allow me, please, to update the information on Edwin. He is my name sake. I was born shortly after his death to his aunt, Elizabeth Knapp Hall, the youngest of the Knapp children. She was, in fact born at 7511 Owensmouth and I had the opportunity to live in the "Castle" as a youth. Frank Knapp Sr and Maria Meixner (my grandparents) immigrated from Austria in 1904 via Ellis Island. Some records show Swiss descent but that was done because of the anti-German sentiment of WW1. Frank and Maria had 8 children: Mary(actually Hedwig) Monks, the eldest, then Frank Knapp Jr (Edwin's father), then Al (all born in Austria), then Fred (born in Pittsburg), Max (of Knapp's Kitchen Kupboard--his son, Max Carl lives on Jordan Ave. yet), Walter, Joe and then Elizabeth. Given the large family my mother and Edwin were only a few years apart in age.
..Actually, the butterfly mentioned was in the skeleton of the first house Frank Sr built there. It was very Tryolian style and only later built the Castle. The SF earthquake ended the life of the Castle. It did indeed have a rock wall on two sides, with an iron gate on Owensmouth and large wood gate on Cohassett. "Sun Went" referred to, as I recall, the setting of the sun in the west. Max Carl has many of the old carvings and doors at his home a couple blocks away.
..I do have a military photo of Edwin and Mike Miller has the burial flag (Mike is Mary Monks grandson in Paso Robles) and his last check written to a PX in Texas but nothing else. Glad to see some one has other photos.
..I might be able to answer questions if there any. [e.l. hall 1/26/2013]
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COUSIN OF EDWIN KNAPP
Hello, I came across this memorial and just love all the info. Walter Knapp was my Father and I have a wonderful picture of Edwin in his uniform that was given to me by my father. I also found the information regarding the "castle" fabulous. I used to play there as a child when we would go visit Mary, my Aunt. The writings, Sun ~ Went is a religious reference. Thank you again for this tribute to my family. [heidijo 1/29/2013]
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STEP-DAUGHTER OF EDWIN KNAPP'S UNCLE
..Walter A. Knapp was my step-dad from when I was 7 years old in 1962. My mom and sister were renting the little white house next to The Castle which was owned by the Knapps. Walter and my mother fell in love and married.
..As a little kid living next to the Castle was great. Walter lived in a smaller section of the Castle and his sister Mary Monks lived in the main house. I remember all the little pathways in the garden with so many items made of cement and pretty stones. We use to love to look at the giant butterfly which I think they built an arbor around it. It was beautiful. The Castle inside was homey yet felt castle-like.
..I remember Walter always working in the yard with the garden or splitting firewood for Mary. He found a horny Toad in the yard and gave it to me.
..Walter was a very artistic stone mason. He worked all over the San Fernando Valley. Walter was also the Student Body President of his senior class at Canoga Park High School.
I remember Walter telling us that his father worked on the big cathedrals in Germany. The craft was passed down to the sons.
..Fred Knapp was a butcher. I am not sure what store he worked in. When Walter would go deer hunting on Frank Knapp's big ranch in Gorman, Ca., then Fred would come to our house to butcher the deer for us.
..The Castle did break down in the earthquake. Walter's older children Mike Knapp and Mary Knapp salvaged many of the items from the home and yard to preserve them. [Carol Hoover 3/15/2013]
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Name: Edwin F. Knapp
Birth Year: 1923
Race: White, Citizen
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Enlisted: March 16,1943 Santa Ana
Branch: Air Corps, Aviation Cadet
Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise accoring to law.
Component: Reserves-exclusive of Regular Army Reserve and Officers of the Officers Reserve Corps on Active duty under the Thomason Act (Officers and Enlisted Men-O.R.C. and E.R.C., and Nurses-Reserve Status)
Source: Enlisted Reserve or Medical Administrative Corps (MAC) Officer
Education: 4 years of high school
Civil Occupation: Semiskilled cement and concrete finishers
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
[U.S. World War II Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 - Ancestry.com]

Name: Edwin F. Knapp
Gender: Male
Race: White
Religion: No preference
Cemetery Name: California
Disposition: According to next of kin
Service Branch: Army, Second Lieutenant
Service Number: 763643
[U.S. Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939-1945 - Ancestry.com]

Edwin F. KNAPP
2nd Lt
Serial # O-763643
HOMETOWN, Canoga Park, CA.
European Theater Operation
15th US Army Air Forces
31st Fighter Group
308th Fighter Squadron
Pilot single engine
North American
P-51 Mustang B-10-NA Mustang
# 42-106582
MACR # 5185
CRASH 24 MAY 1944
LOCATION 15-31 Miles Northeast of Graz, Austria.
Crash place Annaberg west, Niederösterreich, Austria.
Point of departure :San Severo A/D southern Italy.
Mission was yo escort B-24s to Muchendorf, Austria.
40-50 LW fighters attacked near Graz
Shot down on his 8th mission.
No one saw him go down.
Downed over Gratz, Austria within a stone's throw of where his grandfather where born.
Buried : May 27 1944 Annaberg cemetery.