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Personal info

Full name
GARCIA, Joe A
Date of birth
28 December 1924
Age
20
Place of birth
Vermejo Park, Las Animas County, Colorado
Hometown
Denver, Denver County, Colorado

Military service

Service number
37702625
Rank
Private
Function
unknown
Unit
A Company,
1st Battalion,
60th Infantry Regiment,
9th Infantry Division
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Finding of Death
Date of death
13 October 1945
Place of death
In the vicinity of road 399, Raffelsbrand, Hürtgenwald, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
Santos Garcia (father)
Gertrude Garcia (mother)
Ermina Garcia (daughter)

More information

Pvt Joe A. Garcia enlisted in Denver, Colorado on 3 July 1943.

On 12 October 1944, A Company A was located just south of the Raffelsbrand junction. A small group of men went on a reconnaissance patrol, including S/Sgt Banks and Pvt Joe Garcia. Their mission was to recon the area and go to a point about 300 yards south east of their current location. The men moved out, crossed the main 399 road, and advanced about 250 yards. Here they were fired upon. According to Pvt Alfred S. Knowles, one of the men that survived this recon patrol, they were being fired at by sniper guns.

Pvt Garcia was officially declared dead one day and one year after he was reported missing in action.

Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - WWII Enlistment Record, http://9thinfantrydivision.net/tribute-pages/missing-in-action/, WWII Draft Cards

Photo source: Peter Schouteten