Joseph Byrd was born in 1921 to Mr. and Mrs. Isaiah who lived at 420 Hannum Ave, in West Chester, Pennsylvania.  Joseph was on of eight children: including brothers Isaiah, Jr., Ellsworth, Robert, Howard, and sisters Sarah, Henrietta, and Pearl.

Before entering the service, Joseph was employed at Harvey’s Greenhouses, near Brandywine Summit. Brandywine Summit was south near the Delaware border, just west of what is today Rt. 202.

Joseph entered the service in the Army in 1942.  After basic training, he was assigned to serve with the all Black 386 Engineer Battalion, which was formed at Fort Knox, Kentucky.  They staged for deployment at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. Joseph was sent overseas to the European Theater of Operations (ETO) on April 20, 1943.

Private Joseph Byrd Died Non Battle, in a vehicle accident in Italy on March 24, 1945. His father received the government telegram notifying him of his son’s death on Friday April 6th.  

Joseph was buried in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, in Nettuno, Italy.

 

 

The last letter his father received was dated March 21^st, 3 days before Joseph died.  Joseph wrote that he was ill for a couple of weeks, but had recovered and returned to duty.

Three of his brothers served: Isaiah, Jr. in Italy, Ellsworth in France, and Robert in the South Pacific.