Joseph Miskulin's Medals

From left to right:

• WWII Victory Medal
• European, African, Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Bronze Star attachment (triple)
• Good Conduct Medal.
• Marksman Badge & Rifle Bar
• Driver and Mechanics badge
• Honorable Service lapel pin.

To the best of my knowledge, Dad never claimed his medals.  In his various papers, he had  a copy of his discharge papers with a list of his medals.  The VA was very helpful and sent the actual medals (and ribbons) to me.

You’ll notice that all of the medals are rather generic. Dad never bragged about what he did in the war.  Quite the opposite; he rarely spoke of it unless prodded.

During the war he was promoted to sargeant.  I assume it was a brevit promotion, but I don’t know for sure.  At one point, in an altercation with a superior officer, he ripped off his chevrons and declared that he was just a private again (I’ll post the story if I can get enough information to do so reliably).

Dad wasn’t the kind of guy people make Hollywood movies about. He was just another GI in the middle of a war bigger than he was.

I have no idea where the song came from.

You’re so ugly
Oh, so ugly
You’re just an ugly child.

Oh how I hate you
You alligator bait, you
You’re such an ugly child.

You’re knock-kneed, bow-legged, pigeon-toed, too
Your family had a curse and they placed it on you.

You’re so ugly
Oh so ugly
You’re such an ugly child.

He always sang it with the most loving of voices and a smile on his face.

Some day I hope I can sing this to my own grandchildren, while their parents listen–and snicker or roll their eyes.

The video is Joe telling several of his stories.     Unfortunately, he wasn’t all that comfortable in front of the camera, so the wonderful, natural way in which he used to tell his stories doesn’t come through.

It’s still a glimpse into the man and his life.   They’ll be posted as they’re received.

Joe Miskulin 9/11/22 - 11/20/08

Joseph J Miskulin died early Thursday morning, November 20th, at the age of 86.

In his life, he was a biker, a soldier, a craftsman, an outdoorsman, and a leader.  To the very last moment, he lived his life with strength and dignity, inspiring those who knew him through his actions and convictions.

For those who knew him, no words are required to honor his memory.  For those who did not, no words could define the expanse of his soul.

He died quietly in his home, surrounded by his family.

He is survived by his wife Dorothy; his two daughters Therese Miskulin-Brethorst (Dan) and Annette Fassbender (Rick); his three sons, Joey (Patti), Bob (Melissa), and Marty (a.k.a. “Blaze”); 12 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Blaz and Mathilda, and 6 siblings: Louie, Mike, Katie, Mary, John, and Nick.

Update:  The first wave of photos have been posted to the to the Photo Gallery and anything written on the back has been added in the description.  Anything written in italics is what is written (or typed) on the back of that photo.  Once I have translations of the Italian and German, the English translation will be included inside of curly brackets {Like this}.

Any help from anyone who reads either Italian or German and would be willing to do some translation work would be greatly appreciated.  I can’t pay you, but you’ll get a very public thank you and credit here on the site.

The photos aren’t organized very specifically, yet.  That will come later.  Many of them may be in the wrong section right now.   That, too, will get sorted out later.

The first video has been recorded. It’s about an hour worth of stories and some general background. It still needs to be edited out into small sections suitable for posting. That should happen in the next couple weeks.

The scanning of photos is progressing also. So far, I’ve got about 40 pages worth of photos scanned, with about 8-10 photos per page. They need to be cropped, enhanced (most of them are very washed out), organized, and tagged. A lot of them have things written on the back (sometimes in Italian), and it’s important that these notes be correctly recorded.

He’s a man who grew up in Chicago during the 1930s. He knew the legendary gangsters personally. He was there the day Dillinger was found in the alley and saw the body. He enlisted in the US Army during World War II. He fought Rommel’s forces in North Africa. He was a part of the force which took the Anzio beach head. He saw Mussolini hanging in the square in Milan.

He’s been a soldier, a printer, a tile layer, a trucker, a bartender, and an outlaw biker–amongst other things.

It’s my hope that his memories and stories will be a tool that others can use to teach the next generation. These are actual memories–not official textbook propaganda.