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Joseph George Raffa

T/5 in 23rd Headquarters Co

Military occupational specialty: 60 (cook)

ASN#42032514

Born 1912 in Italy, Died 1988

County of residence at enlistment: Kings County, NY
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: foremen, manufacturing
Source: Unit Shipment 10143-A, 23d HQ, from le Havre 23 June 1945; militaryyearbookproject.org/references/old-mos-codes/wwii-era/army...

Joseph Raffa was born on January 3, 1912 in Messina, Italy.  

He registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, at which time he stated that he was living in Brooklyn, he was working for Howard Greason, and his wife's name was Vera. When he enlisted, on August 24, 1943, he reported that he was a US citizen, that he had completed two years of high school, and that he was working as a manufacturing foreman. He was assigned to the 23rd Headquarters Company as a cook, and served in Europe with the unit. He was discharged from the Army with the rank of T/5 on September 26, 1945.

Nothing is known of his life or work after that. He appears to have retired in 1974, and died on October 19, 1988 in Brooklyn, NY. He is buried at Calverton National Cemetery in Calverton, NY.

Sources:

1940 draft card

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/194835164:2238?tid=&pid=&queryId=592500954060de4c2c0d81497a467ee9&_phsrc=rdA10&_phstart=successSource

1943 enlistment record

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=8939&h=438703&tid=&pid=&queryId=c65e7f8f485bfdaeefdf615ec0981d8f&usePUB=true&_phsrc=rdA1&_phstart=successSource

1988 Find a Grave record

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1101073/joseph-g-raffa

1988 US Veterans' Gravesites

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2485538:8750?tid=&pid=&queryId=fe4162371807f75f3c7c4169f43f8186&_phsrc=rdA5&_phstart=successSource

1988 Social Security death index

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=3693&h=50555966&tid=&pid=&queryId=99a6a8baeae8977fa71b58567ac98ac9&usePUB=true&_phsrc=rdA7&_phstart=successSource

1988 Social Security applications and claims index

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/801389844:60901?tid=&pid=&queryId=41eb940b5b71e7a0929c2d18a230eb19&_phsrc=rdA17&_phstart=successSource

1988 VA death record

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/6147999:2441?tid=&pid=&queryId=41eb940b5b71e7a0929c2d18a230eb19&_phsrc=rdA14&_phstart=successSource

2010 Wife's VA death record

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/7001201:8750?tid=&pid=&queryId=66b28b7e1460bede6356164feff4ceb8&_phsrc=yky18&_phstart=successSource

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