Joseph W. Stein
World War II
Joe Stein was born in Templeton on May 18, 1914, to Peter and Anna (Hochstatter) Stein. He attended school in Templeton and graduated from Sacred Heart High School with the class of 1933. He subsequently attended barber college in Des Moines. On June 16, 1936, Joe married Zita Hinners at St. Augustine Church in Halbur, IA. Zita also graduated from Sacred Heart High School in 1933.
Joe registered for the military draft on October 16, 1940, and listed his occupation as a barber in Manning, IA. Due to his age, he was not called up until April 4, 1944. He was inducted into the US Navy at Des Moines and assigned serial number 860 41 29. He was then sent to Naval Training Station Farragut near Coeur d’Alene, ID for boot training. This facility was the second largest naval training center in the country.
By May 31, 1944, Joe had been promoted to S2c (seaman second class) followed by an August promotion to S1c (seaman first class). He remained in training at NTS Farragut. During January, 1945, Joe was promoted to SSMB3c (Ship’s Service Man Barber third class). He was now ready to be assigned to a Naval unit as barber. On February 26, 1945, Joe was transferred to the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, WA for assignment.
In March, 1945, he was assigned to Acorn 49 at Port Hueneme near Ventura, CA. Port Hueneme was a base supporting the activities of the Seabees in the Pacific. Acorn units were an assembly of sailors designed to construct, operate and maintain advanced landplane and seaplane bases and related facilities.
On April 16, 1945, Joe and his unit left the United States for the Mariana Islands in the western Pacific. Records indicate Joe was stationed at Naval Advance Base 943 and Naval Advance Base 958, both of which are believed to have been on the island of Saipan. One of those bases is known to be East Field (also known as Kagman Point). Joe’s job would have been as a barber serving the sailors in his unit.
The atomic attacks on Japan in August, 1945, brought the Pacific war to a close. On August 14, 1945, Joe was promoted to SSMB2c (Ship’s Service Man Barber second class) (E-5 equivalent). He returned to the United States aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-12). He arrived on the West Coast on December 9, 1945. He was discharged on December 24.
Joe returned to Manning and operated his barber shop until retirement. On November 5, 1978, Joe was involved in an auto accident near Defiance, IA. Zita died that day at the Manning hospital and Joe died the following day at a hospital in Omaha. He was 64 years old. They were both buried at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton.