Joseph T. Dawson

Joseph T. Dawson (1914 – November 28, 1998) was an officer in the U.S. 1st Infantry Division during World War II.

Early life
Joseph Turner Dawson was the third child of Baptist clergyman Joseph Martin Dawson and Willie Turner Dawson and was born in Temple, Texas. His father, Joseph Martin Dawson was the minister of the First Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.

Military career
Dawson enlisted in 1941 as a private and fought earlier campaigns in Africa and Sicily. Before D-Day, Dawson served as a staff officer in the First Division and the 16th Regiment during the campaigns in North Africa and Sicily.

Dawson is famous as one of the first officers (a captain at the time and company commander for G Company, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry) to reach the top of the ridge overlooking Omaha Beach and move inland. His unit landed in the second wave at the Easy Red sector on D-Day. Instead of attacking up the beach exits, as was planned, he instead helped to find and clear a path up the mined bluffs. Once at the top, he led his men to his objective at Colleville-sur-Mer, where he was wounded. For his actions that day he earned the Distinguished Service Cross.

After his service in Normandy, Dawson continued to serve as commander of G Company through the campaign in France, Belgium and, finally, to Aachen, Germany. Dawson's G Company (along with I Company) held off German counterattacks for thirty-nine days during the battle for Aachen on, what was called in contemporary papers and is still called in U.S. Army history, "Dawson's Ridge." This ridge sat astride the main route that for the German attempts to relieve the city of Aachen, which Hitler had ordered to be defended at all costs. G Company lost 117 out of 139 men during the battle for "Dawson's Ridge." For this action, Dawson's command was honored with the Presidential Unit Citation.

Later life
After his detachment from the 16th Infantry, Dawson served in the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.).

Dawson married Melba Bruno in 1946. They raised two children, Roslyn and Diane. The Dawson family lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, and in Denver, Colorado. In civilian life he was a geologist in the oil industry. An elementary school in Corpus Christi, Texas is named in his honor.

In June 1994, Dawson revisited Normandy to introduce President Bill Clinton during ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the invasion.