Joseph Columbus Joyce, Jr. was born on April 3, 1921, in Stuart, Virginia. He served in the 506th Fighter Squadron, 404th Fighter Group, as a Pilot on the P-47D #42-22770. On May 9, 1944, all three squadrons of the 404th FG were airborne, each with a separate site in the triangle Dieppe-Rouen-Neufchatel, 20 miles from the Channel coast. The 507th and 508th Squadrons reported good hits in and around the "ski-sites" with 500-pound semi-armor piercing bombs, carried with delayed-action fuses to pierce the heavy concrete of the target buildings. But because of an error by the briefing officers in reading a geographical coordinate, the 506th searched in vain for its target 15 miles east of its true location, finally dive-bombing the railroad yard at Serqueux, 20 miles northeast of Rouen. Flak was intense over the yard. At 10:40 AM, 2Lt Joyce received heavy damage on his plane. According to Capt. Harold W. Freemantle, leading a flight behind Lieut. Joyce, the latter's plane began to lose altitude and throw black smoke. Capt. Freemantle kept his flight over the smoking plane until Lieut. Joyce announced that his engine had cut out completely, and he was going to jump.

At the interrogation, everyone was confident that Joyce was safe; if not in the hands of the French, nothing worse than in a German "Stalag Luft." Three days later came a reassuring report from the 50th Fighter Group, flying fighter cover in the target area, that an opened parachute had been sighted. Eight months later, a letter from higher headquarters, without details and in cold statistical language, announced a change in Lieut. Joyce's status from "Missing in Action" to "Killed in Action."

According to francecrashes39-45.net, his plane crashed near Campneuseville - 12 km northwest of Aumale, France.

2Lt Joyce is now buried in the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-Sur-Mer, France.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov, francecrashes39-45.net, www.americanairmuseum.com