Poffenberger, Joseph L.

JOSEPH LEON POFFENBERGER

PRIVATE 1st CLASS
U.S. ARMY

Joseph Leo Poffenberger was born on December 2nd, 1917. Poffenberger’s mother birthed him at the Bluffton Hospital in Bluffton, Indiana. He is the son of Dewight and Elizabeth (Betz) Poffenberger. Joseph Poffenberger also had one sister named Esther (Schwartz/Lautzenhiser). He and his family resided in the town of Bluffton, on 328, East Arnold Street.

Joseph attended Bluffton High School before graduating. He did not take an interest in sports or any other extracurricular activities at the school for he was far more interested in working. Poffenberger was an employee at a canteen company in Fort Wayne from the point of having his license to joining the service. He also married a gal from Decatur Indiana by the name of Joanna Daily on June 22nd, 1941 and they then resided together at 854 Dierkes St.

On June 25th, 1943, Joseph was drafted into the U.S. Army. He received his basic training at Camp Wheeler in Georgia. Poffenberger was an infantry man who would be fighting on the front lines. He worked his way up to the rank of Private First Class while serving for the United States Army.

PFC Poffenberger was in the 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, First Army, serial #35556946. The 39th Infantry Regiment was the first combat unit of American troops to set foot on foreign soil when they deployed to Scotland in October 1942. They were then sent to Africa as part of Operation Torch to liberate North Africa from the axis powers. By November 1943, the 39th Infantry Regiment was redeployed to England in preparation for the Normandy Invasion. 

PFC Poffenberger joined the 39th in England in their preparations for participation in Operation Overlord and on June 10 (D-Day plus 4), the Regiment landed on Utah Beach and began a push east towards Germany. In August, Poffenberger was injured in combat with a bullet to the leg as the 39th was approaching the Seine River. He returned to combat, after some time at a hospital in England, as the Regiment continued through the Hurtgen Forest and helped to capture the town of Roetgen Germany, the first German town captured by the allies. On March 7, the Division crossed the Rhine River on the, still intact, Ludendorff Bridge and engaged in heavy fighting at the Battle of Remagen. 

Joseph Poffenberger was killed in action March 14th, 1945 during the Battle of Remagen. He was buried temporarily in an American Cemetery in France and then at the Fairview Cemetery in Bluffton Indiana when his remains were returned to the United States in 1947.

For his service and sacrifice, PFC Poffenberger earned the Purple Heart with bronze oak leaf, American Theatre Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal. PFC Poffenberger also earned the Combat Infantryman Badge.

Information researched and collected by Jarron Gerwig, 2017. 

SOURCES

           “39th Infantry Regiment.” 9th Infantry Division in WWII, 5 Sept. 2012, 9thinfantrydivision.net/39th-infantry-regiment/.

Marceline: Walsworth Brothers, n.d. Print."Adams County Soilder." adminsingweb, adamsingenweb.com/Military/WWII/GSPoffenbergerJosephLeon.pdf.

"Joseph Poffenberger." Find a Grave, www.findagrave.com. Accessed 28 Nov. 2017.

"Joseph Poffenberger." Geni, www.geni.com/people/Joseph-Poffenberger/6000000004368351378.

Indiana Historical Bureau, comp. Gold Star Honor Roll: Adams County. Bloomington: Indiana War History Commission, 1949. Print. Vol. 1 of Indiana in World War II.

“Bodies of Four Wells County War Dead Being Brought Home From Belgium Aboard Transport

Robert Burns.” Bluffton News Banner, 24 Nov. 1947.

“Brother of Mrs. Elmer Schwartz Killed in Action.” Berne Witness, 4 Apr. 1945.

“Death of PFC Poffenberger is Announced.” Bluffton News Banner [Bluffton], 3 Apr. 1945.

“Poffenberger Killed.” Bluffton News Banner, 5 Apr. 1945.

SUPPLEMENTARY