U.S. Army
TEC5 Joseph F. Kinnon 31132047
Killed In Action - July 30th 1944, Normandy France
Buried: Unknown Cemetery, Massachusetts
Grave markers Normandy American Cemetery Colleville-sur-Mer, France, above photo.
Temporary graves were marked with a simple wooden cross with an identification plate attached to the
center as shown in the above photo. This photo was taken behind Omaha Beach in 1951 by Life
Magazine, 6 years after World War Two at what is now known as the Normandy American Cemetery
Colleville-sur-Mer, France. Permanent stone markers were added several years later.
Identification Tag, above photo.
Temporary graves were marked with a simple wooden cross with an identification plate attached to the
center. In addition to the identification plate, the service members' identification tag was also affixed to
the cross. Once a permanent stone marker could be erected or the service members' remains could be
relocated, the original wooden cross would be removed and destroyed by incineration. This
identification or "dog" tag was found in the vicinity of Carentan, Normandy France.
The identification tag is made of steel and marked:
Joseph J Kinnon 31132047 T-42-43 (Tetanus shot administered 1942 and 1943)
C (Catholic religion).
HISTORY OF JOSEPH J KINNON

Joseph J. Kinnon was born in 1917 and hailed from Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He entered
service on May 27th 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts. Corporal Kinnon served as a medic and was Killed-
in-Action (KIA) on July 30th 1944 while serving in Normandy, France.
He was 27 years old at the time of his death.
When Corporal Joseph F. Kinnon’s casket arrived by train in Malden, his six brothers who also served in
World War II were there to greet him. Albert, Richard, and Lawrence Kinnon served in the Army while
Robert, James, and Clement Kinnon served in the Navy.
No further information is available at this time.
Map of Normandy France showing where Corporal Joseph J. Kinnon's identification tag was found,
above photo.