World War II Honoree

Joseph W. Zahorik

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Manitowoc, Wisconsin

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Staff Sergeant. Inducted into the United States Army July 13, 1943 with induction at Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was sent to Camp Grant, Illinois for recruit training. Later transferred to Fort Bliss, Texas for Combat Infantry training. After completing the required training phases, he was deployed to the European Theater of Operations. He served as a Squad Leader, assigned to the 47th Infantry Regiment, an element of the Ninth Infantry ‘Old Reliables’ Division, attached to the U.S. First Army. Sunday, March 4, 1945 he was killed in action, during offensive operations against the German armed forces, near the village of Muddersheim-Hochkirchen, Germany. Personnel from a Grave Registration Company buried him in the Henri-Chapelle Battlefield Cemetery Ellpen, Belgium. In the post-war era, this Soldier's family requested that he be buried with Military Honors at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery Location: Henri-Chapelle, Belgium. In his Memory and Honor, a cenotaph memorial has been placed at the Evergreen Cemetery in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. This American Patriot received the following decorations posthumously: Bronze Star and the Purple Heart: The Bronze Star was awarded to the Sergeant for Bravery, Act of Merit and Meritorious Service in Combat, and the Purple Heart, for his Heroism and ultimate sacrifice.