Joseph J. Drake was born in October 1924 in Hawley, Pennsylvania. He had three brothers and one sister. His father lost his job in the soap mills during the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945]. He then worked for the WPA—Work Project Administration [Annotator's Note: the Works Progress Administration was a federally sponsored program that put unemployed Americans to work during the Great Depression]. He earned a small salary plus food stamps. Drake's mother worked as a homemaker. Drake went to work in summer 1938. After graduation in 1942, he worked in a nylon mill making parachute cords. He went into the service in May 1943. He heard about Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] after returning from church. The announcement was made over the radio. The family was concerned because Drake's oldest brother, Robert, was with the Marines and stationed in the Pacific at the time. There was no word from him for a long time afterward. Drake heard about the blitz through Europe and the bombing of England [Annotator's Note: German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom 1940 to 1941] and felt that America would be forced to engage in the war. Drake was drafted in May 1943.

oseph J. Drake was drafted and sent to Camp Shelby, Mississippi with the newly formed 69th Infantry Division. As an early assignee to the division, Drake had the opportunity of meeting the sergeants earlier than the rest of the recruits. That was an advantage in developing personal relationships with the non-commissioned officers. He spent a year in Hattiesburg, Mississippi at Camp Shelby. The time included undergoing maneuvers in Louisiana. He was shipped to Camp Kilmer [Annotator's Note: in Central New Jersey] near New York City [Annotator's Note: New York, New York] and then deployed via a large ship to England. It was a rough voyage involving a large convoy that lost many ships to U-boats [Annotator's Note: German submarines]. The sea was so rough that Drake even performed watch on the ship to relieve ailing sailors. Reaching Southampton [Annotator's Note: Southampton, England], his outfit was quickly shipped over to France. He joined the Ranger outfit there [Annotator's Note: Company A, 2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion]. He patrolled the area around the landing sites in search of enemy troops. Prisoners were taken during those searches. He was guarding prisoners in the compound at the time of the huge aerial bombardment of Saint Lo [Annotator's Note: Battle of Saint-Lô, 7 to 19 July 1944, Saint-Lo (Saint-Lô), France]. After the Saint Lo breakout Annotator's Note: Operation Cobra, 25 to 31 July 1944, Saint-Lo (Saint-Lô), France], the battalion went to the Brest peninsula [Annotator's Note: Battle of Brest, 7 August to 19 September 1944, Brest, France] to clean out enemy strongholds. When they reached the large fortress with the 280mm guns [Annotator's Note: German 28cm SK C/34 naval gun] trained on the ships at sea, the Rangers were given the mission of silencing the big guns. That was necessary for the Allied ships entry into Cherbourg [Annotator's Note: Cherbourg, France]. The Rangers spent quite a bit of time attempting capture of the fort even to the point of talking with the locals about the methods of supply for the enemy occupants. When the American force entered the fort and reached the enemy colonel, it took a threat by a lieutenant to blow the German officer up with a grenade before the surrender negotiations began. The German colonel only agreed to surrender to a comparable American officer—not a lieutenant. The whole Brest peninsula was surrendered. The fortress was a mammoth place with all types of facilities for defense as well as comfort. The large 280mm guns were fired at the oncoming American troops, but their elevation could not be lowered enough to endanger the Rangers. Nevertheless, the gigantic artillery did make quite a noise as the shells zoomed overhead. Afterward, time was spent cleaning up other smaller pockets of German resistance on the Brest peninsula. Drake had been in combat since Saint Lo. He learned quickly to take cover and dig in when the enemy fired on him. Enemy machine guns fired on them and even an 88 [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery] was used to fire on a single soldier. Remains were hard to find after someone was hit by an 88. Drake fought against not only Germans but reluctant troops from occupied countries. After rest, he was sent to Esch, Luxembourg [Annotator's Note: Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg] by train. It was an uncomfortable and cramped trip with no comforts. Additionally, there was constant worry about being strafed by German aircraft. The Germans were in Luxembourg at the time but were driven back to the Siegfried Line [Annotator's Note: a series of defensive fortifications roughly paralleling the Franco-German border built by Germany in the 1930s]. The Rangers also fought in Belgium. While in Germany, no one could be trusted, not even the youth. Children would be used to kill Americans. The Americans would get the Burgermeister or mayor and go about collecting all the guns and knives as well as cameras. Going into Belgium, the locals were much nicer. Another advantage was that the Americans found ice cream there. There was a lot of fighting in Belgium and Germany. The Rangers were called upon to help other units in need. There was a lot of house-to-house fighting in the big cities and towns of Germany. The church steeples had to be destroyed. Hill 400 was tough fighting involving the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions [Annotator's Note: Hill 400, Hürtgen Forest, Bergstein, Germany]. The hill was secured [Annotator's Note: Battle of Hürtgen Forest, 19 September 1944 to 10 February 1945, Hürtgen (Hurtgen), Staatsforst (state forest), Germany] and thereby saved many lives later though many Rangers were lost in the assault. The winter weather was terrible in the holes where the troops had to exist. The tree bursts were bad. Large holes would be dug with trees over them. There was no way to fight back against the enemy artillery. Drake's mortar had no targets to aim at. Strafing was bad but the tracers helped in predicting where the incoming fire was going.

After Christmas [Annotator's Note: 25 December 1944], Joseph J. Drake was in the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945 with the 2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion attached to the 78th Infantry Division]. It seemed as if the battalion was going to get some support from friendly tanks before the discovery that the entire battalion of tanks was knocked out. The dead were still in the disabled vehicles. Drake's squad was assigned to capture enemy prisoners beyond the front lines. There were 12 in his group. They wore capes that were white so they could be camouflaged against the snow. They went three or four miles into the German lines when they gathered some captives. On the way back, they were recognized by enemy machine gunners. Drake's buddy from Pennsylvania had half his face shot off. Drake and Lieutenant Preskey [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling] brought the severely wounded soldier back to the American lines. The Rangers threw snow on the man's face and hustled back to their lines avoiding enemy harassing fire. Drake's friend was subsequently treated by Joe [Annotator's Note: no surname provided] the medic. The wounded man eventually recovered, had plastic surgery, and lived a long life. There were so many soldiers injured and blown apart. It was a bad situation. It was unbelievable. Drake was the supply sergeant. On some nights, he would go to the rear and get hot food for the rest of the men. He would lose sleep for that night. The Battle of the Bulge was bad because the Germans were dressed in American MP [Annotator's Note: military police] uniforms misdirecting traffic. It became confusing and disorienting for the Americans. Daily passwords had to be used to ferret out the enemy imposters. If someone returned from patrol and did not know the password, they were subject to being shot. Following the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans slowly retreated. They would stop occasionally, put up resistance, and then fall back. One of the major concerns was the possibility that the Germans would circle back behind the Americans and catch them from the rear.

Joseph J. Drake fought all the way through to Pilsen, Czechoslovakia [Annotator's Note: Plzeň (Pilsen), Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia) with the 2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion]. He joined the Rangers in Normandy [Annotator's Note: Normandy, France] prior to the Saint Lo breakout [Annotator's Note: Operation Cobra, 25 to 31 July 1944, Saint-Lo (Saint-Lô), France] and fought through the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945] and into Germany and Czechoslovakia. Along with the 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion, they liberated Buchenwald concentration camp [Annotator's Note: Buchenwald concentration camp, Weimar, Germany, 11 April 1945]. Drake took photographs of what he saw. There can be no denying the events. Some inmates were so far gone that medical attention could not aid them. Bodies were still in the furnaces. It was hard to believe people could treat other humans that way. Drake could not understand why rural Germans who seemed very religious could allow those things to happen. Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] got into power because of the German situation during the Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945]. The populace backed Hitler because of his promises of improvement. Still, how the religious Catholics of German put up with that stuff was bewildering. While Drake fought, everything was based on survival no matter what conditions he faced. He had a good group of people he served with. Many soldiers had mental breakdowns. They had to be watched carefully for what they might do. The war was an awful thing. The United States was lucky with the outcome. The bombing of Japan was necessary to prevent the loss of thousands and thousands of lives against a diehard enemy. Drake was never wounded so he did not doubt his ability to survive. He did see gory things similar to those portrayed in "Saving Private Ryan" [Annotator's Note: 1998 American war film set during the Invasion of Normandy]. Drake had to quickly get use to the idea of death and destruction to aid his survival. He learned to hit the ground so that enemy fire would pass over him. The Battle of the Bulge was the worst fighting in the worst area. The forests constrained movement and the cold weather was awful. He was in foxholes most of the time but occasionally would find a house or a barn to find shelter. A dead cow would provide food, but fires would be targeted by enemy gunners. Drake's equipment and clothing were satisfactory. He carried a .45 [Annotator's Note: .45 caliber M1911 semi-automatic pistol] and carbine [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine]. In the Battle of the Bulge, he also carried an M1 [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand] until it was hit by enemy fire. That left him with only his carbine and sidearm. He used his .45 to force Germans to evacuate their home one time. It had a hair trigger and accidently shot the floor near his foot. It was hard to tell who was the most frightened by the incident. Men with combat fatigue [Annotator's Note: military term for an acute reaction to the stress of combat] had to be turned over to the medics and taken off the line. They would not be helpful on patrol. Drake never came across anyone who had shot themselves to avoid combat. After Buchenwald, the Rangers made their way to and stayed in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. The 2nd Rangers were not going to be part of the invasion of Japan. The battalion remained in Pilsen while other troops shipped out to return home to retrain for the assault on the Japanese home islands. Consequently, when V-J Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945] came, the 2nd Rangers were still in Pilsen while other outfits had already made their way back to the United States ahead of them. Drake was at a brewery on V-E Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945]. He was subsequently shipped back home via Camp Lucky Strike [Annotator's Note: one of the transit and rehabilitation camps in France named after popular cigarette brands; Lucky Strike was near Le Havre, France]. His ship landed at Camp Patrick Henry in Virginia. He was shipped to Indiantown Gap [Annotator's Note: Indiantown Gap Military Reservation in Pennsylvania] where he was released for a month of furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. Subsequently, he returned to Indiantown Gap for separation [Annotator's Note: in December 1945].

Joseph J. Drake's service in the war was worth it. Germany and Japan probably could have controlled the world had they not been stopped. Uprisings might have subsequently changed things had the Axis taken over the world. Drake learned to live for the day and enjoy things after he returned in 1945. He went to work and raised a family with his wife. He had two daughters and a son. He did not go to college even though he loved mathematics. Instead of enrolling, he took a job right away. He occasionally has dreams and nightmares about his wartime experiences. He has suffered briefly with depression that affected his sleep and eating habits. He saw a doctor once but decided he could lick the problem by himself. Drake's son-in-law is a psychologist. Some of the memories had to be put in the back of his mind. He used to drink and go out a lot with friends who were in the service. They did not talk much about the war until the 50th anniversary when family and friends suggested he tell his stories so they would not be lost. Drake's late father-in-law was in World War 1 and was gassed in France. He never talked about those experiences. Drake's brothers-in-law were both in the Second World War, but they never discussed what they saw. It makes Drake sad they never talked about it. Drake thought a lot of his father-in-law and mother-in-law. They were never judgmental with Drake and his wife. Drake is proud of his family and his Catholic religion and church family. Drake was promoted to sergeant before his separation. He cannot remember exactly when he was promoted, but it was probably somewhere in Germany. The Rangers were a special unit [Annotator's Note: Drake was a mortar gunner with the Company A, 2nd Ranger Infantry Battalion]. People stayed together after the war. That included their wives and families. The Rangers had lived with people in England and there was a bond with those civilians. Drake felt good with what the battalion did. He had pride in the outfit and the officers. Colonel Rudder [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder] was assigned to the 28th Infantry Division so that he could be promoted to that rank. He was head of Texas A&M College [Annotator's Note: Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas] after the war. He was a nice guy.