JOSEPH M. CAMP, SR., LTJG, USN
Joseph Camp '45
Lucky Bag
From the 1945 Lucky Bag:
Loss
From Find A Grave:
JOSEPH MARTIN CAMP, born Aug 12, 1920, Nokomis, AL, a red-head, just like his siblings and father. Graduated high school, Atmore, AL in 1936 and just under 16 years of age. He enlisted in the Navy in May 1938. As a Bos'un he was appointed in 1941 to the Naval Academy Class of 1945. Because of wartime acceleration of midshipmen, he graduated in 1944 and was commissioned an ensign.
Two days later, he married Elizabeth Hyers in the Navy Chapel at the Academy.
After a short assignment to Jacksonville, FL, he reported to the Bennington in Bayonne, NJ and was assigned to the Gunnery Department. A plankowner, he was aboard until the ship returned to California after the war. He was detached on Nov. 22, 1945 for assignment in Corpus Christi, TX for flight training. While there, he was promoted to lieutenant jg. Following this, he received his wings in Pensacola, FL where his son Joe Jr. was born.
He was transferred to Jacksonville, FL for training in PBNs and assigned to VP-47 based in Kaneohe, HI where his daughter was born. The squadron was reassigned to Coronado, CA in April 1949, then was on TAD, Sangley Point, PI. He was a passenger aboard an Air Force plane to Tokyo to pick up his PBM and crew on April 21, 1950. The plane crashed on the Island of Honshu, Japan, and all aboard perished. Lt (jg) Camp is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
His medals included the American Defense Service Medal (Fleet Clasp), American Area Campaign Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal and Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia Clasp). LT (jg) Joseph Martin Camp Sr. was survived by his loving wife, Edna Elizabeth “Liz” Hyers-Camp and his two young children, Joseph Martin Camp Jr. b. 21 Jan 1947 and daughter Nancy Lynn Camp b. 14 Sep 1948.
He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Photographs
Memorial Hall Error
Joseph was a Sr.; this suffix is omitted in Memorial Hall.
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Class of 1945
Joseph is one of 59 members of the Class of 1945 on Virtual Memorial Hall.