Joseph Fitzgerald was born March 29, 1914 in Oneonta, NY to William Henry Fitzgerald (1888-1949) and Flossie Edna Cipperly (1892-1988) . His dad was from Howe Caves, NY. His mom was from Decatur, NY. His parents married on December 19, 1911 in Otsego,NY. The 1920 U.S. Census recorded him living on Buena Vista Street in Oneonta, NY with his older sister Marion and a younger sister Julia. His dad was a Trainman for the D&H Railroad which had a large presense in Oneonta at that time. Joseph graduated from Oneonta High School in 1935 where he picked up the nickname "Fitz". The 1940 U.S. Census recorded him living on River Street in Oneonta and working as a salesman for the Holland Furnace Company in Oneonta, making a $100 a week.

Fitzgerald registered for the draft and October 16, 1940 and was drafted into the service on March 7, 1941, nine months to the day before Pearl Harbor is attacked. He was 5'-8" tall and weighed 132 pounds. He had brown eyes and brown hair. He was trained at the now infamous Edgewood Arsenal (established in response to the appearance of toxic gas weapons on the European battlefields during WWI) in Maryland and then Savannah, Georgia. He attended maneuvers in Louisiana before being sent overseas to Manila (Philippines) in November 1941 with the chemical warfare detachment 7th Chemical Company (Aviation).

Less than a month later, the same day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they attacked the Phillipines. By May of 1942 things were bleak on Corregidor (a small island at the mouth of Manilia Bay) for U.S. Troops.  Pvt. Fitzgerald was one of them. When surrender seemed inevitable, the Chemical Warfare Service destroyed all remaining chemical materials on Corregidor. Colonel Hamilton and his surviving men, which included "Fitz" were taken prisoner after the surrender of Corregidor on May 6, 1942.    

Pvt. Fitzgerald's parents received word he was offically considered missing on Memorial Day 1942. The telegram reported that Pvt. Fitzgerald had been on Corregidor the day it fell (May 7th in the U.S.) and that he was "presumed to be a prisoner."  After the war, records revealed that Pvt. Fitzgerald died in a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines of dysentery and malnutrition on July 18, 1942. He is memorialized with a plaque in the local cemetery in Oneonta, NY (Plains Cemetery) and also at the tablets of the missing Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Manila.

If you notice any errors or needed additions to this story please contact Jim Greenberg at nez13820@gmail.com. 

Sources:

1892 New York State Census. New York State Education Department, Office of Cultural Education. New York State Library, Albany, NY.

"Attack on Clark Field", Wikipedia, accessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Clark_Field on November 29, 2022.

Birth record for Flossie E. Cipperly, New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA; New York State Birth Index, certificate number 7838.

Find a Grave record for "Joseph Francis Fitzgerald", accessed at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/230933311/joseph-francis-fitzgerald, November 21, 2022.

Find a Grave record for "William H Fitzgerald", accessed at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/230848157/william-h-fitzgerald, November 21, 2022.

Find a Grave record for "Flossie E Fitzgerald", accessed at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/230848221/flossie-e-fitzgerald, November 21, 2022.

Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA. Note: Enumeration Districts 819-839 are on roll 323 (Chicago City).

Kleber, Brooks E., Birdsell, Dale, The Chemical Warfare Service: Chemicals in Combat, United States Army in World War II, The Technical Services, Center of Military History, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C. 1990

Oneonta High School Yearbook 1935, Oneonta, NY. Greater Oneonta Historical Society, Main St., Oneonta, NY.

United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.

United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.

Supporting Files