Joseph Lesniewski

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Joseph Lesniewski
Born August 29, 1920 (1920-08-29) (age 87)
Place of birth Erie, Pennsylvania, United States Flag of the United States
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 1942—1945
Rank Private
Unit E Company, 506th Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars World War II
Other work Mail carrier

Joseph A. Lesniewski (born 1920-08-29) was a paratrooper with the United States Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne -- most prominently known as "Easy Company" and memorialized in the Band of Brothers. During his time with Easy Company, Lesniewski saw combat in Battle of Normandy, Battle of Carentan, Operation Market Garden, and the Siege of Bastogne. Lesniewski was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Simon Schatzberger.

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[edit] Before the War

Lesniewski was a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps and then worked on machinery for General Electric. In October 1942, Joe enlisted in the Army Air Force. He tested and was accepted into the Cadet School to become a pilot. Joseph was anxious to see action and grew tired of waiting for his paperwork to be completed and asked to be transferred anywhere than where he was. In August 1943, Lesniewski volunteered for the Airborne.

[edit] Joining Easy Company

Lesniewski completed Airborne Infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Afterward, he was shipped to Northern Ireland. Because he was fluent in Polish, he was sent to work with the Office of Strategic Services. His mission was to jump into Nazi-occupied Warsaw. The Russians overran the area and the jump was canceled. Joseph was given the option of staying with his unit or being transferred to any other unit. He requested the 101st Airborne. Joseph Lesniewski joined E Company in March 1944.

[edit] During the War

Lesniewski jumped at approximately 0100 hours on the 6th of June. He landed near the town of Sainte-Mère-Église along with fellow E Company paratrooper Ed Joint. After several days, Lesniewski linked up with the rest of his unit and began the assault on Carentan. On June 20, Lewis Nixon picked Bill Guarnere, Albert Blithe, Maxwell Clark, Ed Joint, and Lesniewski to scout out a farmhouse outside of Carentan. During the patrol, Private Blithe was struck in the right shoulder by a sniper. The men dragged Blithe away from the area and Lesniewski tried to stop the bleeding with a handkerchief and pressure.

During Operation Market Garden, Lesniewski was sent out on a patrol near a dike along with Sgt. Art Youman, Joseph Liebgott, James Alley, and Roderick Strohl. After climbing to the top of the dike, Lesniewski came face-to-face with a German prepared to hurl a potato masher at him and his unit. Joe warned his comrades of the live grenade, saving many of the men in his squad. Lesniewski began lobbing grenades over the dike toward the enemy soldiers. It turned out they encountered an entire company of German SS.

During the Battle of Bastogne, Easy Company was under constant artillery barrages from the Germans. During one of the shellings, Joe took cover in a shallow foxhole. A shell came in and landed about 2 feet (0.6 m) in front of Lesniewski. The shell was a dud. Lesniewski tied a handkerchief to a stick and stuck it in the ground where the shell was to warn of the danger.

[edit] After the War

After the war, Lesniewski went to the work for the government as a mail carrier.

[edit] References