Medals
Received: PURPLE HEART MEDAL, AIR MEDAL, ETO OPERATION W/2
BRONZE STARS, GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL
Military
Job: SGT.
Company:
U. S. POSTAL SERVICES
Occupation
after War: POSTMASTER
Bio:
Joe C. Gholston of Fitzpatrick, Alabama was a crewmember on a B-17 when
he was shot down over France on June 16th, 1944. At the age of 23 he was
Sgt. with the 351st BG Army Air Corps. After being shot down he was
captured and taken to Brussels, Belgium and was kept locked up in
solitary confinement for 30 days.
From there he was taken to Frankfurt, Germany for another 30 days
of solitary confinement and was then taken by boxcar to Poland to be
held in Camp Stalag IV. In January 1945 Joe was taken by boxcar for 9
days in standing room only to Camp Stalag I. On May 28th, 1945 he was
liberated by the Russians and was flown out on B-17’s to Camp Lucky
Strike in LeHarve, France.
After the war Mr. Gholston went on to be become a Postmaster and
spent most of his career with the United States Postal Service and his
wife Helen. During his years in the service Mr. Gholston also received
many medals for his bravery including the Purple Heart, the Air Medal,
the ETO of Operations with the Bronze Star, and many more.
Message to Future Generations:
His message to the future generation is "Be stern with your
fellowman so they do not forget the price of freedom". Joe Gholston
passed on shortly after the above photo was taken at the Oct. 1998 Baton
Rouge convention (Feb. 1999). He will remain in our thoughts forever
with this tribute to his sprit.
