About
World War I (1914-1918)
Joseph Anthony Nekola was born in New York, New York, on May 12, 1892. By 1905, he was living in the city of Schenectady with his family. Joseph was a well-known athlete in the community, where he boxed and played baseball for the Old Mont Pleasants and Congress Athletic Sports. During the early half of 1917, he joined the New York City police force.
On December 7, 1917, Joseph enlisted in the United States Army. On April 6, 1918, he was sent overseas aboard the U.S. Army troopship Lapland. He was a private serving in Company A, 308th Infantry Regiment. Joseph was wounded during the Battle of the Argonne Forest and spent around three months in a base hospital in Tours, France. He died on December 9, 1918, as a result of his severe wounds and the mustard gas he inhaled during the conflict. He is buried in St. John the Baptist Cemetery in Schenectady, New York.
Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Find A Grave, Ancestry