Joseph F. DeFranze was born on July 3, 1923 in the city of Readville, located in Massachusetts.

 

He enlisted in the U.S. Army on November 23, 1942, with service number 11118062. On September 8, 1943, he was stationed at Wendover Air Force Base in Utah, attached to the 715th Bomb Squadron of the 448th Bomb Group. On September 19, 1943, he was stationed at AAB Sioux City Air Force Base in Iowa. On November 5, 1943, he was stationed at Herington Air Force Base in Kansas. He married Icie Marie Wilburn on January 21, 1946, and they had one child: Raymond E. DeFranze.

 

Joseph F. DeFranze died on November 27, 2000 in the city of Franklin, located in Ohio.