Muthig friends and family showed up Saturday afternoon to pay tribute and honor family members at the Time and the Valley’s Museum Pavilion. Among the Muthig family, 10 family members were honored.

“What started out as a simple plan to get my aunt Dorothy [Muthig]’s brother’s [Gilbert] recognitions blossomed into this,” stated Craig Strizzi as he delivered opening remarks for the event.

According to Strizzi, there was a “long fight with the government” to get him recognized due to his passing as a Prisoner of War. Due to the circumstances, Strizzi stated the government would not recognize his service due to there being no Discharge Document.

During the ceremony, Dorothy, who was in attendance, was presented with her brother’s shadow box, which according to Strizzi has been “80 years in the [making]”.

New York District 19 Congressman Josh Riley was also present and delivered his remarks, who was honored to be in Grahamsville celebrating the storied service of the Muthig family.

Riley revealed that the event had been in the works between New York 19 Deputy  District Director Georgina Oram and Strizzi since April, to which Riley had been receiving weekly updates on its development.

“I want to thank everyone. Veterans, family, community members, for being here,” stated Riley. “The Muthig family’s story is truly remarkable.”

He told of how Jerome and Nellie Muthig raised 13 children in Parksville, five of whom served our country overseas. Those served were soldiers, marines and coast guardsmen in nearly every conflict of the 20th century.

“Their commitment to service continues across generations and today we also honor the memory of Corporal Kyle Muthig, a marine and Sullivan County Sheriff’s Deputy who was taken from us too soon last year,” stated Riley.

He told of the story that sparked the ceremony: Private 1st Class Gilbert Murray who was known as “Peter” to his family.

When WWII came about, Peter answered the call to serve as a paratrooper and combat medic. During the Battle of the Bulge, he was captured and had died as a Prisoner of War.

“Peter’s [story] was a journey from fishing spots in upstate New York to the battlefields in Europe,” stated Riley. “It was a journey on which he would earn a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, but it was a journey from which he would not return home.”

Riley emphasized that upstate New York had played a critical role in every fight for American freedom, exampling Ulster’s handing of the revolutionary frontline, Hudson Valley Militia’s defeat of British forces in 1812, and Endicott workers crafting of the boots that helped defeat fascism in WWII and those fighting against terrorism.

He alluded that communities such as ours pull together and how that same sense of duty is alive today.

“I am here today with all of you as hopeful as I’ve ever been for our future together. That’s because across upstate New York every day I see communities and families like this pulling together and uniting around our shared values,” stated Riley. “Not dividing each other up or tearing each other apart because of our politics... We all together have a moral obligation to do right by the generations of veterans who fought for us then and depend on us now to make sure their brothers and sisters in combat get the care, and the benefits, and the respect they’ve earned.”

The Muthig Family Honorees were as follows:

Gilbert Peter Murray, Pvt. US Army, 1943–1945

John A. O’Brien, LCDR US Coast Guard, 1922–1953

Grant Muthig, Sgt. US Army, 1942–1945

Clyde Muthig, Pvt. US Army Air Corps, 1945

Harold Muthig, Sgt. US Army, 1951–1953

Raymond Muthig, Cpl.US Army, 1952–1954

Paul Muthig, Cpl.USMC, 1954–1957

Kyle J. Muthig, Cpl.USMC, 1997–2001

Harold Sprague, Sgt. US Army, 1945–1946

Charles Kush, Pvt. US Army, 1942–1945