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name
WADMAN, Joseph Benjamin - Date of
birth
16 October 1914 -
Age
30 - Place of
birth
Prince Edward Island, Canada -
Hometown
Piscataquis County, Maine
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
31100513 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Platoon Sergeant -
Unit
B Company,
1st Battalion,
309th Infantry Regiment,
78th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
17 December 1944 - Place of
death
In the vicinity of Kesternich, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| K | 18 | 13 |
Immediate family
-
Members
William J. Wadman (father)
Mary T. (MacDonald) Wadman (mother)
Claude Wadman (brother)
Blanche Wadman (sister)
Honorene Wadman (sister)
Ila Wadman (sister)
Wayne Wadman (brother)
Violet A. (Melanson) Wadman (wife)
More information
S/Sgt Joseph B. Wadman enlisted in Bangor, Maine on 26 June 1942.He attended 4 years of high school, worked as a railroad employee (locomotive fireman) and carpenter.
He was in combat from 12 October 1944 until the time of his death in Europe in the Battle of Bulge.
In a letter to his family on 10 June 1946, his comrade C.B. Davison, told what happened that day. The company had moved in Kesternich and was holding his position in the houses. At a certain time, they noticed that everybody had moved and their platoon was left behind with no food or help. S/Sgt Wadman, together with S/Sgt Edward L. Miller from C Company, who is also buried at Margraten, decided to go back through the town and find the rest of the company. At that time it was already night. It was the last time they saw them.
Later their bodies were found with no marks or wounds so they probably were killed by shell of mortar fire.
Source of information: Jac Engels, Roel Timmermans, Raf Dyckmans, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.findagrave.com, www.ancestry.com - 1930/1940 Census
Photo source: Roel Timmermans, Judith Livingstone