Born in Shreveport with his twin, Charles, Joseph was drafted in the fall of 1941. Trained as a machine gunner in the 168^th Regiment, 34^th Infantry Division, he participated in the invasion of North Africa in 1942. Captured by the Germans in February of 1943, Joseph was taken to Germany, where he was incarcerated first at Stalag 7A, then at Stalags 3A and 3B. Late in the war, his captors marched him to a temporary camp where he remained until his captors fled as Russian soldiers approached. He weighed 135 pounds when he was captured, 94 when he was liberated in 1945. He left the service later that year as a corporal. He worked as an engineer