Joseph H. Dew

  • ASN:
    0-1017451
  • DATE OF BIRTH
    Jan 1, 1920
  • DATE OF DEATH
    Jul 9, 2003
FULL NAME:

Joseph H. Dew

ARMY SERIAL NUMBER (ASN):

0-1017451

  • DATE OF BIRTH: Jan 1, 1920
  • DATE OF DEATH: Jul 9, 2003
RESIDENCE (DURING WWII):

Redfield, Iowa

DATE / PLACE OF ENLISTMENT:
  • DATE OF ENLISTMENT:
    Jan 15, 1942
  • PLACE OF ENLISTMENT:
    Fort Des Moines, Iowa
ORGANIZATION:
  • MAIN UNIT:
    741st Tank Battalion
  • SUBUNIT:
    Company C
RANK / POSITION IN UNIT (LAST KNOWN):
  • RANK:
    Captain (Cpt.)
  • POSITION IN UNIT:
    Platoon Leader
BATTLES AND CAMPAIGNS:

✭ Normandy Campaign (6 June – 24 July 1944), ✭ Northern France Campaign (25 July – 14 September 1944), ✭ Ardennes-Alsace Campaign (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945), ✭ Rhineland Campaign (15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945), ✭ Central Europe Campaign (22 March – 11 May 1945)

DECORATIONS AND CITATIONS (AWARDS):

🎖Distinguished Service Cross, 🎖Bronze Star Medal, 🎖Purple Heart, 🎖Good Conduct Medal, 🎖American Campaign Medal, 🎖European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, 🎖WWII Victory Medal, 🎖Distinguished Unit Citation

SUMMARY OF HIS SERVICE:

Joseph H. Dew started at Fort Des Moines, then went to Texas for basic training, then to Chanute Air Field, the United States Army Air Service Technical Training Command, 130 miles south of Chicago where he trained to be a Curtiss P-40 mechanic. Then he went to Orlando Army Air Base to maintain P-40s. He had an opportunity to go to Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox, Kentucky. After graduating as a 90-day wonder, he joined the Tank Corps in Fort Riley, Kansas, and trained with the 9th Armored Division, 19th Tank Battalion. Next stop was training at Desert Training Center, California-Arizona Maneuver Area (DTC-CAMA) in the Mojave Desert at Camp Ibis, near Needles, California. He then traveled to Camp Polk to train with tanks in the swamps of Louisiana, and had his final training in Texas before going to Camp Shanks in New York where he was shipped overseas to England. From there, he joined the 741st Tank Battalion as a platoon leader replacement (the person he replaced was killed in Normandy) about D-Day +6. He stayed with the 741st through France, Germany, and ended in liberating Pilsen, Czechoslovakia.

My dad was the son of a blacksmith in Redfield, Iowa. He loved his family, nature-camping and fishing, and he enjoyed using his mind to invent things. After he graduated from Iowa State using the GI Bill, he moved from Iowa to Flint, Michigan and worked for General Motors and moved up in the company. He received several patents on machines for GM that were used in making cars. I wrote "Joe Dew a Glorious Life" that talks about his life and war experiences in detail.

STATUS:
  • CATEGORY:
    Wounded In Action (WIA)
  • DATE:
    April 13, 1945
  • LOCATION:
    Merseburg, Germany
  • NOTES:
    "Moving deeper into German territory, the view out of Joe’s turret on April 13, 1945 was tranquil and serene with beautiful cherry trees covered in pink and white blossoms lining the road. His tank was loaded with men from the 2nd Infantry Division joking and laughing. In an instant, Joe’s enjoyment of the peaceful ride was shattered by a blast from a bazooka. The shot went right through his driver’s head and into the tank. Sgt. Walter Fryer was instantly killed. Three infantrymen, who had been riding on the tank, lay splattered on the tank’s front slope. The ammo stash inside the tank horrifically exploded. Joe was blasted out of the turret as the tank swerved off the road. He crashed to the ground, disoriented, and unable to hear anything. His face was red with blood streaming from both ears. The other survivors in the tank bailed out and were injured, but okay, their tank going up in flames! The German with the bazooka immediately stepped forward from behind a tree waving a white flag in surrender. Joe staggered to his feet and barked an order to stop the soldiers converging on the German. Years later, Joe wondered why he had ever stopped the troops from going through with executing him on the spot. Quickly piling into other tanks, Joe and his men, along with the 2nd Infantry Division, continued fighting their way into Dorstewitz. Joe couldn’t hear well and was having difficulty discerning where sounds were coming from. As soon as the town was secured, Joe along with his remaining crew were sent back to the field hospital. Joe had cuts, bruises, a concussion, and perforated eardrums. At the field hospital, Joe’s men stayed for a week and then were sent to Paris for a one-month furlough. However, with a heck of a headache and constant ringing in his ears, the doctor gave Joe a shot of penicillin, two aspirin, and a Purple Heart, and sent him back to the battlefront after two weeks of rest. He took command of another tank and joined his platoon outside of Pilsen," from the book "Joe Dew A Glorious Life" by Elaine Briggs.
HONORED BY:

Elaine Briggs, Daughter

NARA - Display Full Records

File Unit: Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records)
in the Series: World War II Army Enlistment Records, created 6/1/2002 - 9/30/2002, documenting the period ca. 1938 - 1946. - Record Group 64 (info)

Brief Scope: This series contains records of approximately nine million men and women who enlisted in the United States Army, including the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps.

Source: aad.archives.gov/aad/
SOLDIER RECORD:
Full Name
Joseph H Dew
Army Serial Number
17042478
Enlistment Place
Ft Des Moines Iowa
Enlistment Date
15 Jan 1942
Army Branch
Air Corps
Service Branch
Army
Race or Ethnicity
White
Residence
Dallas County, Iowa
Enlistment Term
Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Source of Army Personnel
Civil Life
Level of Education
1 year of college
Occupation
Unskilled mechanics and repairmen, n.e.c.
Marital Status
Single, without dependents
Birth Date
1920
Birth Place
Iowa
Source Box Number
0243
Source Film Reel Number
2.100
Conflict Period
World War II
Served for
United States of America

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THE STORY IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR THIS SOLDIER
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