Jon Tester: “I rise to pay tribute and thanks to Joe Papez, Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army retired. Joe is a veteran of World War II.…”

“I rise to pay tribute and thanks to Joe Papez, Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army retired. Joe is a veteran of World War II. In fact, he is believed to be the oldest living Purple Heart recipient in the United States, and he is one of the brave men who answered the call of their country and who helped the ``greatest generation'' earn that title. Joe was injured three times during his stint in the Army, where he served in both Africa and Italy, in the campaigns of 1943 and 1944. He earned three Purple Hearts fighting in Casablanca, on the island of Sicily, and in Italy. But it was his last wound by a German artillery shell during the fierce fighting at Anzio, Italy, that earned him a free ticket back home. The way Joe tells the story, after he was wounded in Anzio, he was put on a ship and sent home, but he doesn't remember the trip. He woke up in Virginia. After a while, he was shipped to Denver, where he recovered in a hospital. Then he was shipped to Oregon and finally to Santa Barbara. When he finally got back on his feet, he kept on serving his country by caring for German prisoners of war in Utah, where he remained until the war was over. Following the war, Joe returned to Red Lodge, MT. Disabled from his war wounds, he was unable to get a job. He made a drawing for a homestead in Powell, WY, but was told he was too sick to have it. However, with help from his brothers and a bank loan, he got into farming and ranching.”