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Personal info

Full name
PIHERA, Joseph J
Date of birth
22 January 1909
Age
36
Place of birth
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Hometown
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Military service

Service number
15013922
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
unknown
Unit
B Company,
1st Battalion,
10th Infantry Regiment,
5th Infantry Division
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Finding of Death
Date of death
8 October 1945
Place of death
In the vicinity of Fort Driant, France

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
Tablets of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
Benedick Pihera (father)
Josephine (Tintera) Pihera (mother)
Julia Pihera (sister)
James Pihera (mother)
Mary Pihera (sister)
Rosie Pihera (sister)
Chris Pihera (brother)
Frank Pihera (brother)
Charles Pihera (brother)

More information

S/Sgt Joseph J. Pihera volunteered for the Army of the United States in Columbus, Ohio, on 12 October 1940.

According to a report of 2nd Lt Goell, B Company was ordered to attack a section of Fort Driant on 7 October 1944. The platoon of S/Sgt Pihera was surrounded in a concrete shelter were they had assembled for re-organization and were killed by enemy small arms and artillery fire. No attempts could be made to evacuate the remains of casualties incurred in this action due to the tactital position of the enemy. Field investigations were conducted in the area in May 1948 and January 1950 with negative results.

S/Sgt Pihera was declared officially dead one day and one year after he was reported missing in action.

Source of information: Leo Minne, Terry Hirsch, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com – U.S. Headstone and Interment Record, IDPF

Photo source:
www.findagrave.com – Michael V. Drachman, DPAA