World War II Honoree

Joseph L. Passet

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Honored By

Irene Passet

Relationship

Sister

Fought under General George Patton, Company A, 34th Battalion, 5th Armored Division, which was the first to enter and liberate Luxembourg and to fight on German soil. He commanded the leading tank in the liberation attack and was the first U.S. soldier to die in that combat on September 10, 1944. His body laid on the side of the road all day long; people from Luxembourg placed flowers on it. By the end of the day, his body was covered. He was buried in a temporary military cemetery in France. A year after the war his body was moved to a cemetery in Belgium. Two years later, his wife was notified that his body was going to be moved again because the farmers there wanted their land back. She had his body brought back to Jefferson Barracks Cemetery in St. Louis in May 1948.