Logan Kaneski
Austin Brown
Period 2
Joseph Haddy
Army
1939-1945,1950-1953
Joseph Haddy
World War II was from 1939-1945 and caused over 40,000,000 deaths making it the
largest war in history. World War II veteran Joseph Haddy and his wife, Doris Haddy, shared
their experiences and the stories of their lives at King High Remembers on March 21, 2014. Mr.
Haddy experienced combat in the Army during World War II and trained men for the Korean
War. The Korean War was from 1950-1953 and resulted because of the political division of
Korea. He served the full length of both wars.
Mr. Haddy was born in 1920 in Walter, Minnesota and had a 5 sisters and 1 brother. He
was an average student growing up, graduated high school and went straight to work for his
father's business. He worked at one of three grocery stores his father owned until he was 22 and
decided to join the military. He volunteered to join the Army but failed the eye exam at first, then
went back two months later when the requirements were lowered and was accepted. He reported
for service in Fort Smelling, Minnesota and then was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington for basic
training. After completing training he was transferred to Camp Hood, Texas to serve in the 776th
Tank Destroyer Battalion. He became 2nd Lieutenant and commander of the company which
consisted of 12 tanks. He was not in the first wave of forces on D-day in 1940, but arrived by
boat shortly afterwards. His cousin, on the other hand, parachuted on D-day into Normandy
which wasn't revealed to Mr. Haddy until some years after the war ended. The major battle that
Mr. Haddy was involved in was the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 where he experienced his most
memorable combat.
Later during the battle in Germany he was assigned a mission to launch a night attack
against a German camp. Many men opposed the idea of a night attack for fear of a German
ambush or traps in the unknown terrain. During the attack two out of the twelve tanks were
destroyed but had three casualties during the attack. Mr. Haddy's tank was one of the two that
were hit and caught on fire. He saved all six of his men in the tank, earning him a Silver Star for
bravery and courage, and a Purple Heart for getting injured during the battle. Once they secured
the German camp, they moved on toward the Remagen Bridge on the Rhine River. As they
pushed German forces back, the Germans knew they were outmatched and blew up the bridge in
an effort to slow the Allied force's invasion into Germany. His company was then ordered to
move into Czechoslovakia to battle the German occupation. On their way they discovered a few
Nazi concentration camps that had been left behind as the Germans were defeated by Allied
forces. There weren't any people there but the soldiers could see the events that had taken place
when they were occupied.
As the soldiers moved into Czechoslovakia, they were aware that the war was ending, but
still feared German attacks. Mr. Haddy was able to keep in contact with his family by sending
letters to his sister and parents. Each letter was censored by the military to ensure no secret
information was being sent or received. His letters revealed his emotions and experiences
throughout the war and how it affected him. He felt it was an honor to serve his country but was
still scared of him or one his friends being killed by the Nazis. One morning in May of 1945, his
commander came to the front lines and announced that the war was finally over and to stop all
forward movement. They all celebrated and may have had a couple drinks or so to celebrate.
They all prayed and thanked the Lord and attended the next Sunday service with joy. He stayed
in Czechoslovakia for another couple weeks and then finally began the journey home.
When Mr. Haddy made it back to America he moved to Hollywood, California because
his mother's health was declining and his father sold his grocery business to move the family for
the medical treatment that she needed. Mr. Haddy and his Uncle bought a grocery store together
and worked as the manager. It was more of a high class store because of the location and a lot of
famous people shopped there as regular customers. A few of the regulars that he could remember
were Walt Disney, W. C. Fields, and Raymond Burr. In 1950, the Army Reserve called him and
told him that he must report to Fort Worth, Texas to help train soldiers for the Korean War. He
didn't like the idea but he had no choice because he didn't have enough credits to get off the
Army Reserve list. He went to Texas and trained men until the war ended three years later.
Several years after training in Texas, Mr. Haddy got married and had children. In 1992 Mr.
Haddy and his wife went back to Europe and retraced the steps he took in the war. He is still
living in California and has now been married to his present wife for 33 years. He still believes
in having a military for protection but doesn't agree with losing men in foreign affairs. He is
proud to be a veteran and happy to share his stories with the younger generations.