When Clarence August Zinkgraf was born on June 27, 1895, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, his father, John, was 33 and his mother, Frederika, was 37. He had three brothers and one sister. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I as a Private First Class in the 127th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Division. He died on October 4, 1918 in a hospital in France due to sickness and is now buried in Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial, Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, Departement de la Meuse, Lorraine, France. He also has a cenotaph located in Union Cemetery, Plymouth, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, USA.