Joseph Hernandez Sandoval was born March 8, 1919, in a boxcar in a Silvis, Illinois, railyard to Edubigis “Ed” Morado and Angelina Hernandez Sandoval, who were both from Mexico. His family lived in that box car, as many Mexican families did, on the Rock Island Lines’ property. His father worked on the railroad. Joseph had five brothers and four sisters. All his brothers later served in the military.
In 1940, Sandoval married Manuela “Nellie” Segura in Muscatine. He registered for the draft two months later. At the time, he was a section laborer for C.B.I. Railroad. The young couple had a son named Henry. Sandoval entered the Army in January 1944 and completed basic training in Alabama.
After deploying to Europe in July 1944, Sandoval served with the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment and participated in the later phase of the Normandy campaign. He was wounded in November and returned to duty in March 1945 after recovering in the 826th Convalescent Center in England. He wrote home saying that he was feeling fine. At the same time, Joseph’s brother, Emidio, was fighting in France. Another brother, Frank, had been killed fighting in Burma in July 1944.
In early April 1945, it appeared the war in Europe would soon be over. Sandoval’s unit celebrated. The next day, they received orders to cross the Elbe River and to wait in reserve. At the river, they were hit with heavy artillery and had to abandon the bridge. Three German tanks were headed their way. Sandoval’s unit was struggling to hold the bridgehead on the bank of the Elbe, near Schonebeck, Germany, when they were overrun. After the chaos of the fighting subsided, Sandoval couldn’t be found.
On April 29, 1945, Nellie received a telegram that Joseph was missing in action in Germany as of April 14. One year later, she received another telegram from the Adjutant General that Joseph was now presumed dead.
In mid-November 1948, Sandoval’s body was among 7,572 war dead that were returned to the United States from Europe aboard the Army transport Carroll Victory. In December 1948, his body was returned to his family. He was buried next to his brother, Frank, at Rock Island National Cemetery. He now rests in Section D, Site 22. You can honor his service at his Veterans Legacy Memorial page.
This #VeteranOfTheDay is from the Veterans Legacy Program. To learn more about the VLP, our partnerships and how we share the stories of Veterans in our national cemeteries, please visit the VLP webpage.
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