December 16, 2022 – Washington Co., WI – Today is the 78th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge; it was December 16, 1944 and the Germans surprised the Allies by attacking in the Ardennes Mountain region on the Western Front.
Joe Demler served in the 137th infantry during the Battle of the Bulge where he was captured by German troops and taken as a prisoner of war. Doctors told him he was days away from death when he was liberated from a Nazi camp in April 1945 weighing less than 70 pounds.
He became known as the “human skeleton” after Life magazine published his photo.
Upon his discharge from the Army in November 1945, Joe began working for the U.S. Postal Service in Milwaukee before transferring to the Port Washington Post Office, where he worked for 37 years. Joe coined the motto “every day is a bonus” which became the motto of the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight, an organization he helped organize.
Throughout his life, Joe participated in countless Honor Flights and proudly shared his story of service. Joe Demler died February 5, 2020.
Zadra is one of the few remaining WWII vets in the area. Zadra served in the U.S. Army from 1942-46 and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was an intelligence officer in the 19th Tank Battalion that was sent to join the 6th Armored Division.
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Zadra’s unit raced to safeguard the road to Bastogne, Belgium, on the southern flank of the battle.
Zadra survived the Battle of the Bulge but caught pneumonia and was taken to an aid station. He recuperated in a hospital for a couple of weeks and returned to his unit.
Earlier in 2022 Zadra celebrated his 100th birthday.
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