We were proud to have Mr. Joseph C. Ortiz present at the Elkhart Memorial HS Military Appreciation football game. His life journey represents the spirit of America and the service and dedication of our military. Mr. Ortiz, who will be 92 in October, is a WWII veteran and former POW (Prisoner of War). He was living in Chicago when he enlisted in the Army Air Corp in 1942. After completing basic training was sent to gunnery school, he became a member of the newly formed 392nd Bomb group, 576th Squadron of the 8th Air Force and became a ball turret gunner in a B24 plane with the heavy bombardment group. He was sent to England in the spring of 1943 to begin bombing missions over Germany. He was shot down on his 8th mission in Nov. of 1943, near Amsterdam, Holland and captured by the Germans 2 days later. He spent 1-1/2 years in the POW camp STALAG 17B located in Krems, Austria. He was liberated in May 3, 1945, by elements of Patton’s 3rd Army after a 30 day “death” march from the POW camp to the American Lines. 4400 US POWs were in this camp and on this March. Several died mainly from starvation, frostbite, and dysentery, but Joe is a survivor! He came back to the U.S. in June and was honorably discharged at the end of 1945. Several years later, he moved to Elkhart, Indiana, where he worked for Miles Laboratories for 20 years. He has 2 sons and 2 daughters, who all graduated from Elkhart High School. He retired from Lakewood Engineering Corp of Chicago after 30 years and moved back to Elkhart County in 1999, currently living near Goshen with his wife, Marilyn, of 43 years. He was finally awarded the Purple Heart Medal in 2011 for the injuries received on his last mission in Nov. 1943.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 18:54:52 +0000
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