Stationed in England he flew most of his raids with the Pathfinders, thr 428th Bomb Group. Then transferred to 398th Bomb Group.

Nov. 26, 1944, the roar of hundreds of Wright Cyclone 12,000 horsepower radial engines was heard over Miseburg, Germany. The sky was filled with B-17 bombers on their way to the target, an oil refinery.

Shells from anti-aircraft guns exploded in mid-air, peppering the sky with flak. Joseph was a ball turret machine gunner on the "Poney Express". Flak hit his plane, shutting down two engines and setting a third on fire. They turned around and tried to make it back to England, but losing altitude, they crashed in Holland with a load of bombs still on board. They threw out as much as they could to lighten the load because they had to crash; they were too low to bail out. The Germans captured Joseph and the rest of the crew. Joseph was taken to Stalag Luft 4, a prisoner of war camp in Grosstychow, Poland. As the Soviet Union's Army approached from the East he was forced to march for 600 miles to Bitterfeld, Germany, southwest of Berlin. He marached for 85 days, between February and April 1945. Luckily they marched right into the American lines, the German became prisoners and the Americans were freed.

Air Medal with three Oak Clusters, European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal with four Bronze Service Stars, American Campaign Medal, WW II Victory Medal, Prisoner of War Medal, Presidential Unit Citation and the Good Conduct Medal.

In 1995 he received a package in the mail. Inside was the Distinguished Flying Cross, 55 years late.

Joseph R Kerr