Surgeon General Casualty Report, Application for Gravestone or Marker and resulting grave marker for Pvt Chester Joy Green (Greene) in the Neches Cemetery, Neches, Texas

Pvt Greene (aka Green) was wounded in action on June 6, 1944 in France.. He died of his wounds on 3 July 1944 and was awarded the Purple Heart.

Based on a family member's account, [Chester] on July 3rd, 1944 was in one of his dug-in holes and raised up at the wrong time. He was hit in the chest by a mortar [fragment] and was medically administered to by Lem Morgan of the Medical Detachment. Lem visited the Greene family after he healed from his own wounds and returned to the states. He wanted the Greene family to know of Joy's bravery.

Note: The site of the wound is contradicted in the Surgeon General's report which states that he had been hit in the head.

[Chester] did write a letter. However, it was never censored and postmarked. My uncle remembered reading about Joy's description of flying in darkness but being impressed by the beauty of the full moon's light crossing the English Channel. We believe he might have been writing about the early morning hours before D-Day.

NOTE:  Although the family name is spelled as "Green", Chester's records from the date of his induction forward somehow became spelled as "Greene".  This was despite the fact that his twin brother enlisted on the same day without having the same mistake made on his records.