lest we forget

DEMERSON, JOE EDDIE

Rank / Branch:

  • PRIVATE FIRST CLASS E-3, U.S. ARMY

Date Of Birth:

  • 1948-08-08

Country Of Loss:

  • SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

  • HOSTILE, MUTIPLE FRAGMENTARY WOUNDS

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:​

  • GROUND

Other:

  • NOT MARRIED

Unit:

  • FIRST CAVALRY DIVISION

Date Of Loss:

  • 1969-03-21

Loss Coordinates:

  • BINH DUONG

Catagory:

  • BODY RETURNED

Awards & Decorations:

  • SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

  • JOE EDDIE DEMERSON, PRIVATE FIRST CLASS, U.S. ARMY, LAMESA, DAWSON COUNTY TEXAS

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

  • COMBAT INFANTRYMAN'S BADGE, BRONZE STAR, PURPLE HEART, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTRY WITH PALM, VIETNAM MILITARY MERIT MEDAL, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL

BIOGRAPHY

  • Joe Ed was born in Lamesa, Texas on Aug. 26, 1948. He was the son of Willie Beatrice Walker and Albert E. Demerson. Joe Eddie Demerson had played youth baseball and participated in both football and track at Lamesa High School. He was a 1967 graduate. He later attended Cisco Junior College and Howard College at Big Spring before enlisting into the Army.
  • He enlisted in the Army on his 20th birthday. He was killed on March 21, 1969, while driving a military vehicle on a mission which was attacked by hostile forces. He had been in Vietnam less than 30 days, assigned to Troop D, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Division.
  • Joe Eddie Demerson was buried with full military honors in the Lamesa Memorial Park Cemetery in the Field of Honor Section. He was survived by his parents,the Reverend and Mrs. Albert Demerson of Lamesa, his sisters-Shirley, Alice, and Jacqueline, He was also survived by his brothters, Albert and Kenneth. He was awarded a posthumous Bronze Star for meritorious service and a Purple Heart.
  • Joe Eddie's brother, Kenneth, a Vietnam Veteran and his father, the Reverend Albert E. Demerson are now deceased and rest in the same plot as Joe Eddie. His mother passed away February 7, 2002 and is buried nearby. His sister, Shirley Coutee resides in Arlington, Texas; sisters; Alice Linster and Jacqueline Riptoe live in Midland, as does his oldest brother, Albert Demerson, Jr.
  • An editorial in his hometown newspaper following his death perhaps summed up the feelings about the casualties of the Vietnam War when it said, "Only the Good Lord knows why Joe Ed Demerson was called to make the supreme sacrifice in the service of his country…but because he was, the Vietnam War is just a little closer to home today".
  • LAMESA HIGH SCHOOL, CLASS OF 1967, LAMESA, TEXAS
  • LAMESA PERTUAL GARDEN'S CEMETERY, FIELD OF HONOR, LAMESA, TEXAS