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T/Sgt Joseph W. Krompasky volunteered for the Army of the United States at Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania on 6 March 1942.

Statement of William Blank:
"We moved into the forest to attack the Siegfried Line. The German resistance was constant and often at close contact. We came to this clearing in the forest and we began to receive some fire from the other side. The hillside on the opposite side of the clearing was lined with pill boxes and through the center of the clearing was a small stream and barbed wire. We were ordered to advance across the clearing to attack the pill boxes.

In the immediate area where we crossed, there were two pill boxes. We could not hear any sounds from the boxes, so three of our men led by Krompasky attempted to enter the pill box. They were immediately fired upon by a machine pistol which killed Krompasky and wounded the other two. I crawled up on top of the pill box where there was a chimney and dropped a Gammon grenade down the chimney."

He was awarded the Silver Star Medal posthumously for this action. The citation cited: for gallantry in action while serving with Company G, 3d Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division, in action on 2 February 1945, near Losheimergraben, Germany. T/Sgt Krompasky, Platoon Sergeant, acting as first scout for a platoon which had neutralized one pillbox and was attacking another, voluntarily exposed himself to draw fire. He moved directly toward the pillbox through an artillery barrage and was seriously wounded but succeeded in exposing the enemy gun position. Though it cost him his life, this act of T/Sgt Krompasky allowed the platoon to accomplish its mission, capture fourteen of the enemy and kill one. The gallant deed of this soldier at the sacrifice of his life is in keeping with the most honored traditions of the Airborne Forces.