Persian Gulf War Veteran
Joe Souza
Interviewed by:
Eilidh Gallien and Kajsa Simon
Joe (right) and a shipmate
during their service
(1987- 1991)
2016
"The whole experience, I'd recommend it to anybody"
~ Joe Souza (19:31)
Name:
Joseph J. Souza
Date of Birth:
June 28, 1969
Branch of Service:
United States Navy
Dates of Service:
July 1987 - June 1991
Location of Military Service:
USS Garcia,
Homeport: Charleston, SC
USS Dahlgren,
Homeport: Norfolk, VA
Residence at Time of Interview:
Dennis, MA
Joe Souza's Story:
Joe Souza wanted to get out of the small town in Maine where he grew up, and that's exactly what he did. He enlisted in the Navy at seventeen years old when he was a junior in high school. All he wanted to get out of it was the experience, and he got just that. He served in the Persian Gulf War working on a destroyer escorting Kuwaiti oil tankers. Joe spent time in Spain, Dubai, and Bahrain, and got to go to places he would never have gone to had it not been for his service. He spent five years in the Navy and was brought home when his daughter Tiffany was born. However, if that had not been the case, Joe said that he would have continued his service.
After he served, Joe got a job as a lumberjack in Maine. A year later, he moved to the Cape and worked at the Wequasset Inn for 7 years. He now resides in Dennis, MA and works for a pool company.
