World War II Honoree

Joseph Akers

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Ceredo, West Virginia

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Corporal. He was inducted into the United States Army June 3, 1942 at Huntington, West Virginia. Served as a Tank Crewmember, assigned to Charlie Company and element of the 803rd Tank Destroyer Battalion, attached to the Third Armored Division in the European Theater of Operations. His unit participated in the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest against the German Armed forces (Battle Dates: September 19-December 16, 1944). Reported missing in Action Saturday, November 25, 1944 when his company was providing artillery ground fire for the U.S. Army Infantrymen, who were attacking the town of Grosshau, Germany. In remembrance of the brave, his name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands. Later his missing in action status was amended to read killed in action November 24, 1945. After the cessation of hostilities in Europe, a Quartermaster Graves Registration Company, Quartermaster Corps conducted recovery operations and his remains were not recovered. A German resident in November of 1948 found some remains in the Hürtgen Forest near Grosshau, and notified the American Graves Command personnel of the findings. The remains could not be positively identified, and were interred as an unknown in the Ardennes American Cemetery Neupre, Belgium. In June of 2017, personnel from the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Agency disinterred an unknown from the Ardennes Cemetery. The remains were transferred to the Agency laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska were he was identified. The family of this Soldier received his remains for burial. He was laid to rest with Military Honors, October 1, 2019 at the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. This American Patriot received the following decorations posthumously: Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. The Bronze Star was awarded for Bravery, Act of Merit and Meritorious Service in Combat, and the Purple Heart, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.