Joe Eugene Mann was born on July 8, 1922, in Reardan, Washington, was raised on the family farm, graduated from Reardan High School in 1941, and enlisted in the Army in August 1942. He became a paratrooper and, after final training in England, deployed with the 101st Airborne Division, "The Screaming Eagles." He distinguished himself with valor beyond the call of duty and is the only 101st trooper awarded the Medal of Honor for the Market Garden Offensive in World War II. He also received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters. On September 18, 1944, near Best, Holland, his platoon was attempting to seize the bridge across the Wilhelmina Canal when it was surrounded and isolated by an enemy force greatly superior in personnel and firepower. Acting as lead scout, Mann crept to within rocket-launcher range of an enemy artillery position and, under heavy enemy fire, destroyed an 88mm gun and an ammunition dump. He remained in his exposed position and, with his M-1 rifle, killed enemy soldiers one by one until he was wounded 4 times. Taken to a covered position, he insisted on returning to a forward position to stand guard during the night. The following morning, as the enemy advanced to within a few yards and threw hand grenades, one landed within a few feet of him. Unable to raise his arms because they were bandaged to his body, he shouted "grenade" and threw his body over it, dying in the explosion. He is buried in Greenwood Memorial Terrace in Spokane, the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane is named in his honor, and there are monuments near the site of his death and a park bearing his name in the Netherlands.