Ret. Sgt. Joseph Alton Caulfield

Ret. Sgt. Joseph Alton Caulfield Mulhearn Funeral Home West Monroe, Louisiana   Funeral Services for Ret. Sgt. Joseph Alton Caulfield, 81, of Monroe, LA will be 2:00 PM Saturday, September 22, 2007 in the chapel of Mulhearn Funeral Home West Monroe with Rev. Charlie Hood officiating. Burial will follow at Hasley Cemetery in West Monroe.   He was born in Centreville, MS, the youngest of 11 children. He passed away on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at the Northeast Louisiana War Veterans Home in Monroe after a lengthy illness.   Joe is survived by his wife of 61 years, Sallie Gibson Caulfield, four sons, Larry Caulfield and wife Mary, of Plano, TX, John Caulfield and wife, Kathy of Cold Spring, KY, Philip Caulfield of West Monroe and Mark Caulfield of Aurora, IN; two daughters, Susan Caulfield Shields and husband Fred, Sallie Caulfield Schexnaider and husband Jeff both of West Monroe, LA; nine grandchildren, Krista Powell, Jeff Caulfield, Ben Caulfield, Stephanie Shields, Kerri Sue Shields, Fred Shields Jr., Keith Tippen, Ray Paul Schexnaider and Nick Schexnaider, and two great-granddaughters, Chloe Powell and Lucy Caulfield.   He was preceded in death by his parents, William H. and Pearl O’Rourke Caulfield; and by his six brothers and four sisters.   Joe enlisted in 1942 after he saw Marines marching smartly down Canal Street in a morale-boosting military parade shortly after Jimmy Doolittle’s raid on Tokyo.  The 16 year-old Roosevelt Hotel bellhop rushed home to Centerville to get his mother’s permission to join the Corps.  He became the fourth Caulfield brother to serve.  Floyd defused bombs in Europe, Lynn was with the Army Air Corps in Africa, and Henry was a member of Merrill’s Marauders in Burma.   Following Boot Camp, Joe shipped out to Ballarat, Australia, in 1943 as a replacement in the First Division which was rebuilding and resupplying after its recent hard-fought victory at Guadalcannal.  Joe, in characteristic, self-deprecating humor said, “I spent the next few years dodging shot and shell hurled at me by members of the Japanese Imperial Army.”   His campaigns took him to New Guinea, a landing at Cape Gloucester on the steaming, rain-forest island of New Britain, and other landings on the coasts of Rien Bay and Talisea.  Joe had been part of a gun crew on a half-track, but the armored vehicles bogged down in the soft jungle soil.  The unit was disbanded.  He became a Browning Automatic Rifleman with Fox Company, Fifth Marine Regiment.   After helping build a camp and train at Pavuvu, Joe’s unit landed on Peleieu in September, 1944, a cinder-like coral island with temperatures of 115 degrees.  Joe earned his first Purple Heart when he was wounded by shrapnel from a Japanese knee mortar.   Upon release from the hospital, Joe returned to his unit which had returned to Pavuvu for more training.   Easter Sunday, April 1, 1945, the First Marine Division went ashore at Okinawa.  The defense of the Japanese home island was fierce.  The battle found Joe, a seasoned combat veteran, carrying a Thompson sub-machine gun and leading an infantry squadron at age 19.  The dropping of the “Bomb” and end of the war found Joe in the 5th Naval Hospital on Guam recuperating from grenade shrapnel wounds suffered three days before Okinawa was declared “secured.”  He earned his second Purple Heart during the Okinawa campaign.  Joe was recommended by his platoon leader and company commander to be a candidate for 90 day officers’ training in Quantico, VA.  Japan’s surrender ended a need for more officers, but Joe felt honored to be considered.   In addition to the two Purple Hearts, Joe’s decorations included four battle stars, Pacific Campaign, Two Presidential Unit Citations, 1st Marine Division, Peleieu and Okinawa, Good Conduct Medal and Victory Medal.   Following his discharge from Guam hospital, Joe returned to the States after 26-plus months overseas.  At Treasure Island, San Francisco, Joe asked a German POW on the chow line for more mashed potatoes.  The German told him, “Nein!” Joe wondered, “who won this war, anyway?”  With so many troops arriving daily, rations were short, Joe was discharged in December, 1945.   Two months later, Joe re-enlisted in Houston for four more years in the Marine Corps.  He served two years with a guard detachment at Anacostia Navy Yard and Air Station, Washington.  He received his high school diploma through GED testing.   While at the base, Joe, a Mississippi Methodist, met Sallie Gibson, a Virginia Presbyterian, at a Knights of Columbus dance in the D.C. area.  Sallie had come to Washington during the early days of the war and was working in the Department of Army Ordnance Research and Development, small arms, in the Pentagon.  They were married shortly afterward.   The Marines transferred Joe to the Second Division at Camp LeJeune, NC.  Sallie and newborn son, Larry accompanied him.  His tour of duty included several landing exercises in Virginia, North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Cuba, and a six-month Mediterranean Cruise aboard the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt.  Ports of call included Gibraltar, France, Italy, Greece, Malta, Tangier, Sicily, Algeria and Libya.  Joe was discharged January 25, 1950.  Additional medals were: second Good Conduct Medal and European Occupation Medal.  Several years later, the Daughters of the Confederacy bestowed the Military Cross on Joe and his brothers for service in World War II.   After his discharge, Joe attended Phillips Business College in Lynchburg, VA, for a year.  The family returned to Washington where Joe was employed by Pitney-Bowes.  Sallie resumed working at the Pentagon.   A few years later, Joe requested a transfer closer to his home in Mississippi.  He was sent to the Monroe-West Monroe district for the Shreveport branch.  His area covered Northeastern Louisiana and Southeastern Arkansas where he was service representative for Pitney-Bowes office equipment.  His industry and integrity earned him many letters of commendation from grateful company executives.   He retired after 30 years with Pitney-Bowes to pursue two of his favorite hobbies, woodworking and reading.  Another favorite pastime was enjoying his grandchildren.   Pallbearers will be Edwin Holliday, Charles Dill, Fred Shields, Jeff Schexnaider, Mike Shields and Donnie Cummings.Visitation will be from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM Friday, September 21, 2007 at Mulhearn Funeral Home West Monroe.   The family would like to give a special thank you to the staff and caregivers at the Northeast Louisiana War Veterans Home.   In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society or to the charity of one’s choice.   Online Registry/Condolences: www.mulhearnfuneralhome.com