On Dec. 12, 2004, Joseph "Jumpin Joe" Beyrle of Company I, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, passed away peacefully in his sleep in Toccoa, GA. He was there to talk to local school students and tell a little of his story. His story was somewhat unique as he was the only known U.S. soldier to serve with both the American and Soviet armies during WW II. This is indeed a unique event, even more so for a "dead man." How all that came to be is one of the most amazing stories of WW II.

Joe Beyrle joined the Airborne right after graduating from St. Joseph's Catholic School in Muskegon, MI. While training at Toccoa, Joe earned something of a reputation as an "enthusiastic" jumper. So much so that he would take the place of other soldiers so that he could get extra jumps in. He was an eager and "can do" sort of soldier that also earned three stars on his combat jump wings. Two of those came from jumps over occupied France acting as "paymaster" for the Office Of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor to the CIA. He made the jump into Normandy on June 6, 1944, along with the rest of the 101st, 82nd Airborne and British 1st Airborne. A few days after his jump, he was in a firefight and captured. At that time, a German soldier who helped capture him took his dog tags. Joe would wind up listed among the dead a few days later, even though he was on his way to Germany. The presumption was that the soldier that stole his dog tags was the one killed. His first funeral was on Sept. 17, 1944, the date of Operation Market Garden, the 101st Airborne's second jump into German occupied territory.

At any rate, Joe wound up in a German POW camp. He would go through seven camps in total. He would eventually attempt escape three times, the last time in 1945 being successful. While on the run in Poland, Joe would hook up with a Red Army tank battalion and join them in fighting the Germans. During this fight, he would be wounded and taken to a Soviet hospital. While there, he would meet Field Marshal Georgi Zhukov, who would help him get back to the U.S. embassy in Moscow, and from there back home.

After the war, Joe wound up working at Brunswick Corp., eventually retiring from there as head of the shipping department. Joe was also a past president of the 101st Airborne Association. It is indeed rare when you get to meet someone who has been a unique part of world history. It is even more amazing when you find out that not only did this person live in your hometown, but just a few miles from you.

The Passing of an Eagle...

Funeral and burial services for Joe Beyrle will be held on April 22, 2005, at 8:45 am at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC. The services are open to the public. A reception is being planned to follow the services and information about the reception will be posted soon.

Joseph Robert Beyrle, I
Born: Saturday, Aug. 25, 1923, Muskegon, MI
Died: Sunday, Dec. 12, 2004, Toccoa, GA
Age: 81 Years