American Legion Beaufort Post 207 brings you Joseph (J.) Smalls, 76, who graduated from St. Helena High School in 1967 and joined the U.S. Army. He attended Basic Training at Fort Gordon and then armor (tank) training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
Smalls was assigned to an armor unit in Manheim, Germany for two years before transferring to units on Staten Island, N.Y. and Fort Dix, N.J. He separated from active duty at Fort Meade, Md., in 1970 and joined the reserves at Bayonne, N.J. He then worked as a shipfitter in Hoboken, N.J., for eight years before moving to Texas to become a city bus driver in Houston for 15 years.
In 2010, he retired and returned to St. Helena. He is a member of the DAV chapter here. He has two sons in the U.S. Army; one is a Blackhawk mechanic and the other a communications specialist; both are veterans of the war in Iraq.
Compiled by John Chubb, American Legion Post 207. For Veteran Of The Week nominations, contact jechubb1@gmail.com.
