Southampton County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Wiggins, Joseph D., 1944 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ S/SGT. JOE DARDEN WIGGINS DIES FOR COUNTRY (PICTURE) JOSEPH DARDEN WIGGINS DIES FOR COUNTRY - WORLD WAR II S/Sgt. Joe Darden Wiggins, son of Mr. and Mrs. I.Q. Wiggins, whose death was reported through these columns last week, according to a notice received from the War Department by his wife, Mrs. Edna Brandt Wiggins of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Huntsville, Alabama. Besides his wife and parents, he is survived by a brother, John B. (Jack) Wiggins, and two small nephews, Jackie and Joe Wiggins. A native of the community, Sergeant Wiggins was born May 21, 1909, was graduated from the Franklin High School in the class of 1924, and attended the University of Richmond for three years. During the years between 1927 and the time of his induction inton the Army, July 6, 1943, he lived with his parents and was engaged in farming. From childhood he was a member of the Sycamore Baptist Church. Joe possessed a remarkable friendly personality, and had acquired a host of friends throughout Tidewater Virginia. Sergeant Wiggins trained for service at Camp Forrest, Tennessee, Camp Phillips, Kansas, Camp Laguna, Arizona, from which place he was transferred to Fort Dix, N.J., preparatory for overseas service. From Induction he was assigned to the 80th Division, 305th Combat Engineers BN., and is known to have participated in several major battles with General Patton's Third Army in France. According to the telegram from the War Department he died on October 21, at Pont A. Musson near Metz. ****************************************************************************** WIGGINS CITED POSTHUMOUSLY Huntsville Arsenal, Ala., Aug. 7. The Bronze Star Medal, posthumous award to Staff Sergt. Joe Darden Wiggins, missed in action in France, Oct. 21, 1944, was presented to his widow, Mrs. Edna Brandt Wiggins of Huntsville Arsenal, Ala., by Col. Greggry Marshall, arsenal commanding officer. The award was made for courage displayed by Sergeant Wiggins and for his outstanding leadership and devotion to duty. He also held the Purple Heart and the European Theater of War Ribbon with three stars. According to word received from his buddies, the sergeant's unit had just completed clearing a forward area of mines and booby traps and while infantry troops were receiving instructions on how to detect and handle mines, one of them exploded killing him and his platoon commander. Sergeant Wiggins, son of Mrs. Grace Darden Wiggins and the late Irvin Q. Wiggins, of Franklin, was a member of the 305th Combat Engineers, 80th "Blue Ridge" Division, Third U.S. Army commanded by Gen. George S. Patton. He entered service in July, 1942, training at Camp Forrest, Tenn., Fort Dix., N.J. and several western camps, sailing for overseas duty in July 1944. He participated in the Cherbourg and Falaise Pocket drives, and his unit built a bridge over the Moselle River under protection of smoke screens made by his wife, daughter of J.L. Brandt, of Groveland, Lake Minnetonka, Minneapolis, Minn. His wife was employed by the Chemical Warfare Service Arsenal in Huntsville in March, 1942, and is at present serving in the capacity of women's counselor with the Employee Relations office. ****************************************************************************** SGT. JOSEPH DARDEN WIGGINS SGT. JOE WIGGINS, KILLED IN FRANCE, IS REINTERRED HERE The remains of Staff Sergeant Joe Darden Wiggins, son of the Mrs. Grace Darden Wiggins of the Franklin community and the late Irvin Quinton Wiggins, who was killed at Pont-a-Mousson, France, of October 21, 1944, arrived in Franklin Tuesday afternoon of this week for reburial. Joe, as he was known to his many friends, entered the army on July 6, 1942, and trained at Camp Forrest, Camp Phillips and Camp Leguna before leaving for overseas of June 30, 1944. He was a member of the Sycamore Baptist Church, and in civilian life he was a farmer. Besides his mother he is survived by his wife, Mrs. Edna Joan Brandt Wiggins of California; one brother, John B. Wiggins; and two nephews, Jack and Joe Wiggins, all of Franklin. The body was taken to his home Wednesday afternoon, and funeral services were conducted at the graveside in the family cemetery Thursday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock by Rev. L.M. Kanipe, pastor of Sycamore Church, and Rev. R.D. Stephenson. The pallbearers were John Wheeler of Edenton, N.C., Dr. Sidney Kitterman of Norfolk, Richard Branch of Richmond, Hunter Darden Jr., Harvey Darden, Preston Cotton, Linwood Rock of Norfolk, and Sgt. R.T. Casey of Syracuse, N.Y., who accompanied the body to Franklin from the Philadelphia Distribution Center. S/SGT "Joe" Joseph Darden WIGGINS, WW-II Army engineer, former farmer, b. 21 May 1909, Southampton Co., KIA 21 Oct 1944, Pont-à-Mousson, France, re-interred in the WIGGINS family cemetery*, 6 Jan 1949, "The Tidewater News" (Franklin, VA), Nov. 17, 1944, p. 1; donated article, publication unknown; "The Tidewater News" (Franklin, VA), Jan. 7, 1949, p. 1 *Located on Hwy. 258, ¼-mile S of Hwy. 189; his parents are also buried there. Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project, Miscellaneous Cemeteries, Vol. 2 (II-31): http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/cemeteries/miscvol2.txt His father's (donated 1945) obit posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/w252i1ob.txt His mother's obit ("Tidewater News," May 29, 1961, p. 6) is posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/w252g1ob.txt Pont-à-Mousson is on the Moselle River, south of Metz. Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Joan Brinkley, & Mrs. Bruce Saunders (bs4403@verizon.net), and re-formatted by File Manager. file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/w252j3ob.txt