Joseph Deter

ASN:33897502

Joseph William Deter registered for the draft on October 16, 1940. Born January 24, 1914, he was from Baltimore, Maryland. His place of employment is listed as Blumenthal Kahn Electric Company in Baltimore, Maryland. This twenty-six-year-old was 5-9, 145 pounds with a light complexion, blue eyes, and blonde hair.

Enlisted in the Army on October 13, 1943, PVT Deter received his training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After completing basic training, he shipped out to the European Theatre of Operations arriving in England in early 1944.

On June 2, 1944, PVT Deter was assigned as a replacement soldier to A-Battery, 319th Field Artillery Group, 82nd Airborne Division. The 319th was stationed at Papillon Hall, Market Harborough, England. It is unknown if PVT Deter glided into Normandy with the 319th on D-Day or assigned to the rear echelon.

Company Morning Reports were produced every morning by the individual Army units to record personnel matters. The following events were reported:

July 25, 1944, PVT Deter was listed as from duty to five-day furlough to Leicester, England beginning at 0600 hours. He returned to duty at 2500 hours on July 30, 1944.

March 30, 1945, PVT Deter was transferred to the 325th Glider Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division, Camp Suippes, France.

Company Morning Reports

As a gun crewman, light artillery with A-Battery, PVT Deter fought in the following battles and campaigns: Holland, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns. 

May, 1945 the war was over. The US Army used the Adjusted Service Rating Score (ASR) at the end of the war to determine when soldiers were eligible for discharge.

By August 1945, PVT Deter with 64 points was now stationed in Berlin, Germany for occupational duty with other 319th soldiers having an ASR score of less than 85. They were housed in what had formerly been a Nazi SS barracks.

While stationed in Italy and France, the photos below depict PVT Deter and other 319th enlisted men. Photos courtesy of The Pongracic Family.

PVT Joseph William Deter was awarded 3 Bronze Battle Stars, Bronze Arrowhead, Good Conduct Medal, the Belgian Fourragere, Presidential Unit Citation Badge, Victory Ribbon and the European-African-Middle Eastern Theatre Ribbon.

Joseph William Deter, 45, died November, 11, 1959.

God Bless this hero.