Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
MESSINA, Joseph A - Date of
birth
1921 -
Age
unknown - Place of
birth
Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts -
Hometown
Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
31452016 -
Rank
Private -
Function
unknown -
Unit
I Company,
3rd Battalion,
378th Infantry Regiment,
95th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Silver Star,
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
18 November 1944 - Place of
death
Pont du Sauvage
Longeville-lès-Metz, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Lorraine
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 17 | 41 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Grace M. Messina (sister)
More information
Pvt Joseph A. Messina attended high school for two years and was a plumber.He enlisted in Fort Devens, Massachusetts on 22 February 1944.
On the order of General Kittel, on the morning of 18 November 1944, the Pont du Sauvage was blown up at the moment men of I Company began to cross it. Fifteen men were killed.
For his action that day, Pvt Messina was awarded the Silver Star Medal posthumously.
He was first buried at Temporary American Military Cemetery Limey, France.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Raf Dyckmans, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Headstone and Interment Record, http://mathieu.gitzhofer.free.fr/irongb.php
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Laura S