From the Fargo Forum newspaper, December 5 1944
Honouring the individual men who served in the squadron is our main focus, so the lions share of research goes into finding their details. Photographs are especially important in bringing someone to life. But sometimes we run into the sand. Some men left little behind in the way of a life story. All that sometimes remains is shadows.
One example is Sgt. Joseph L. Weaver (17018341) of Reconnaissance Troop C.
Joseph's story is hard to tell because he had few close family, no children and his widow is long passed away.
Joseph was killed in action near Mürringen, Belgium, on September 18 1944. He was 27 years old.
All we have is a few cold facts about his war service, from official accounts. Such as how one month before his death, he was wounded by a landmine, according to hospital records.
He was discharged back to duty, in time to be part of the advance into Belgium as American forces raced for the Siegfried Line (or Westwall). As ‘point’ for VII Corps, when the squadron reached the Bucholz Forest they faced constant ambushes and concentrated artillery fire. It may have been one of these ambushes in which Joseph was killed.
Here’s an account of lethal action involving Troop C on the date of his death. As well as patrolling, their mission was to protect men from the 297th Engineer Battalion as they cleared massive roadblocks left by the retreating Germans. These roadblocks weren’t just obstacles - they were typically booby-trapped and designed as lethal ambush locations, designed to funnel Allied troops into ‘kill zones’. The squadron’s After Action reports describe many such ambushes.
Maybe Joseph was one of those three men killed in the ambush of their jeep (known in army parlance as a ¼ ton truck or a ‘bantam’).
The hospital record of Joseph’s death
Aside from these details we know little else of Joseph or his life. According to his enlistment record he did not initially join the cavalry. And he seems to have been a professional entertainer before enlisting.
Today, two men in Minnesota, Budd Parker and Tim "Pete" Fairbanks are assembling a memorial for all the Chippewa Indians of the White Earth Nation reservation who died in war during the last 158 years.
Joseph L. Weaver was one of them.
White Earth Nation, Minnesota, produces more than its share of military servicemen and women. According to the reservation Veterans Service Office, Native Americans enlist in the US armed forces at more than eight times the rate of the general population (25% compared with 3%).
They played an outsize role, compared with their numbers, in WW2. For example, Rear Admiral Francis J. Mee - who fought in the legendary Pacific naval engagements of Coral Sea and Midway - was the first Native American promoted to flag rank in the US navy. He was a White Earth Nation man.
Joseph Weaver was a near contemporary of Francis J. Mee and his service and sacrifice demands a place in history.
This unofficial work to commemorate their tribe’s service people is a labour of love for Budd and and his cousin Tim, who began the project.
Tim is pictured working on the White Earth Hall of Honor
If you can help Budd and Tim (and me) with any information about Joseph, please get in touch. They - and Joseph - need more than this to properly commemorate a man who died in service of his country and the liberation of Europe, 4,000 miles from home.
(Work in progress - Budd is aware of the typo)
Thank you to Budd Parker for making contact and giving permission to use the images above.
Knowing that Joseph passed by my home in June 1944, makes preserving his memory personal to this project too.
Joseph is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minnesota