Joseph F. Ambrose

Joseph F. Ambrose (May 24, 1896 – May 1, 1988) was an American soldier who was a prominentWorld War I veteran; his 1982 photo has become a popular symbol of Veterans Day. In this widely viewed and circulated photo, Ambrose was captured wearing his own World War I US Army 'Doughboy' uniform, helmet, and field equipment while attending the official dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., in November 1982. In addition to wearing his World War I uniform and gear, Ambrose clutched a folded US Flag that covered the casket of his son Clement A. Ambrose, who had been killed in action in the Korean War on 14 February 1951.

In other photos of Ambrose, his World War I US Army uniform jacket clearly displays various and unusual details, to include: the US Army 35th Infantry Division ('Santa Fe Division') insignia patch, at the left upper shoulder; the US Army rank stripe of E-3 (Specialist) on the sleeves; the US Army Infantry Branch disc insignia, at the right collar; the upper part of (apparently) German Identification Tags, attached by a cord to a button hole; the WW1 Victory Medal, at the left breast; and an obsolete Army Marksmanship Badge (with a 'Sharpshooter' rating), also at the left breast.

Joseph Francis Ambrose was born May 24, 1896 in Joliet, Will County, Illinois. His father and mother were Austrian, and lived in a community of many German/Austrian immigrants. His father worked at a steel mill until the age of 63. He had one sister, Anna, who lived from 1900–1955.

Ambrose was drafted into the United States Army in 1917. His 1917 World War I draft registration card does not appear to be filled out (nor signed) in his hand, and it lists his middle initial as "V." At that time, he was a laborer at the "Phoenix Horse Shoe Company."

After the War, in 1920, he lived with his father and sister, and was working as a "Heater" at a "Gas Company." Sometime in the mid 1920s, he married a woman named Marie. Her native language was Croatian, but she also spoke English. She was born in 1904, and immigrated to the US in 1907 from Yugoslavia. They had four sons: Joseph Jr. (1926), Norbert (1927), Clement (1928), and Rolland (1933).

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