Joseph F. LaSpada was born on March 27, 1916, in Lockport, New York. He had one daughter. He enlisted in the Army on March 19, 1941, prior to the war, in Buffalo, New York. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a driver and also as single, without dependents. Joseph served as a Staff Sergeant and Left Waist Gunner on B-17 "Picklepuss" (#42-30063), 418th Bomber Squadron, 100th Bomber Group, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. They led the 481th Squadron which was assigned to bomb the Messerschmitt factory at Regensburg, Germany. The mission plan was that after the bomb run, the group was to continue east and land in Africa. However, enroute to Regensburg they were attacked by a squadron of ME 109's. One of the German fighters took out one of the engines on Pickelpuss. The plane couldn't keep up with the group anymore and the crew decided to turn around and fly back to their base at Thorpe Abbots in England. After about 15 minutes of flying, they were intercepted by another squadron of ME 109's who managed to set the bomber on fire. Shortly thereafter the plane blew up. Shot down by enemy fighters (Hauptmann Von Bonin, Oberleutnant Barte and Leutnant Witzke), the aircraft crashed at Herbesthal Lontzen, 500 meters west of Schmalgraf, near Kelmis, west of Aachen, in Belgium on August 17, 1943. Four of the crew survived and spent almost two years as prisoners of war at POW camps in Germany. Joseph was "Killed In Action" when their plane was shot down. He is now buried in Saint Joseph's Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Niagara County, New York, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.ancestry.com, www.abmc.gov, http://www.warmuseums.net/Pages/belgium_me_detailed12.html, http://www.aircrewremembered.com/knox-robert.html