Veteran Spotlight
Joseph C. Reaser
A Gettysburg Hero
Richard D. L. Fulton
Joseph C. Reaser was born to parents Clayton S. and Annie E. Reaser on September 27, 1913, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He had four sisters, Catherine, Helen, Ruth, and Esther, and two brothers, Paul and David.
Reaser was a graduate of Gettysburg High School. Reaser registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, at the age of 27. His card described him as having been 5’9” in height at the time and weighing 160 pounds. His hair was described as being black, having brown eyes, and a light complexion.
The Gettysburg Times reported in the newspaper on August 13, 1946, that he had trained/and or served at Camp Croft (South Carolina), Fort McClellan (Alabama), Camp Blanding (Florida), Camp Breckenridge (Kentucky), and Camp Atterbury (Indiana) before being sent overseas, where he served with the 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, ultimately achieving the rank of captain.
After being posted in England, Reaser officially entered the war six days after D-Day, landing at Normandy beachhead and, ultimately, according to The Times, Reaser “fought through most of the major engagements in France,” until his unit pushed on into Belgium.
Reaser was wounded three times during the hostilities, two of which included being injured at Saint Vith, Belgium, when he was struck by a fragment (shrapnel) of artillery shell in the right arm, and several days later, when he was again struck in the left arm by another piece of shrapnel, both incidences occurred in 1944, according to The Gettysburg Times.
He was wounded in both arms in an incident in 1945, when he and his men had set fire to a house in which German soldiers were holed up, thereby providing a strong resistance to the American troops who were attempting to flush the German soldiers out. Reaser ordered his men to set fire to the house and shot each of the Germans as they attempted to flee, according to an account published in the February 17, 1945, Times newspaper.
He had also stepped on an anti-personnel landmine, but once again, he had fortunately survived that plight because although the mine’s trigger went off, it failed to ignite the charge.
Reaser was promoted to captain during September 1944, while positioned with his unit in Holland, noting in a letter home to a friend that he was considering donating a Nazi flag he had captured at Fort Eben-Emael, Belgium, to the Gettysburg Elks Club, according to an article in the October 26, 1944, issue of The Times.
For his outstanding service in the military during World War II, Reaser was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart with cluster, and a Combat Infantry Badge with four Battle Stars, as the result of his outstanding service in World War II.
The following is an excerpt from the citation that accompanied the presentation of the Distinguished Service Cross to Captain Reaser:
“The President of the United States of America, authorized by an Act of Congress on July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Joseph C. Reaser, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with the 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces from 6 to 12 on August 1944. First Lieutenant Reaser’s intrepid actions, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 30th Infantry Division, and the United States Army.”
Following his service in the military, Reaser married Louise Bitner Grell on March 25, 1950 (they honeymooned in Atlantic City, New Jersey), and during that timeframe, he had been employed by the Federal-State Inspection Service, according to the March 27, 1950 edition of The (Hanover) Evening Sun.
Subsequently, he worked as a district sales manager for Pennsylvania Co-Operative Potato Growers for 25 years, retiring in 1984.
The couple had two daughters, Joanne and Sue, and a stepson, Robert E. Grell.
Reaser passed away on September 6, 1999, in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, and was buried in the Neffs Union Cemetery in Lehigh County.
