Magnolia Cemetery

Private First Class Joe R. Hastings, U.S. Army, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, served as squad leader of a light machinegun section in Company C, 386th Infantry, 97th Infantry Division. In battle at Drabenderhohe, Germany, on April 12, 1945, he displayed conspicuous initiative that allowed his battered unit to evacuate its wounded and reorganize. By his intrepidity, outstanding leadership, and unrelenting determination to wipe out formidable German opposition, he cleared the path for his company’s advance. He was killed in action four days later while again supporting his unit, and President Truman posthumously awarded him the Congressional Medal of Honor on November 8, 1945.

Magnolia, Ohio · United States