Joseph R. laflamme

United States Navy (1943-1945)

World War II

Seaman

Purple Heart

Joseph Reginald Laflamme was born on January 11, 1924, in Winslow, Maine, the eldest son of a veteran of both Canadian and U.S. forces in World War I. By the time the United States entered World War II, he was living in Hartford, Connecticut, with his two brothers and sister.

He first attempted to enlist in the Marine Corps but was rejected due to flat feet. In late 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and trained at Samson, New York. In early 1944, he was sent to Scotland and assigned to Operation Neptune, the naval component of the D-Day invasion, due to his fluency in French.

On June 6, 1944, he landed on Utah Beach. Following the Normandy invasion, he remained in France, supporting the Army along the coast toward Cherbourg and St. Malo, primarily performing reconnaissance and security duties. On August 2, 1944, near Dol-de-Bretagne, his unit was ambushed by German forces. He was severely wounded by a mortar round during the engagement and initially left behind in the aftermath. He evaded capture and eventually received medical attention, first in France and England, then at a naval hospital in Boston.

After recovering, he refused discharge and was assigned to the destroyer escort USS Straub (DE-181), serving the remainder of the war on convoy duty in the South Atlantic and Mediterranean. He was awarded the Purple Heart for his injuries.

After the war, he returned to Hartford and worked as a draftsman at Bush Engineering, where he met Julia Bourque. They married in 1959 and moved to Enfield, Connecticut, raising four children. He later worked as a welder in several local manufacturing companies before retiring.