Joseph Earl Simpson was born on 31 January 1919. He was the son of Floyd Nelson Simpson and Velma Mae Hutsell. He attended McMinn County High School.
Died 30 July 1944
Buried at Sewee Cemetery, Athens, TN
Second Lieutenant
134th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division, Company I
The Chattanooga Daily Times, 4 February 1948
The body of Lt. Joseph Earl Simpson, 25, of Athens, killed in action in France July 30, 1944, will arrive in Athens from Atlanta Wednesday night accompanied by a military escort. Lt. Simpson was First Platoon leader of Company I, 134th Infantry. He will be given a full military funeral under the direction of McMinn County Post, Veterans of Foreign Wars, of which Maynard Ellis Jr. is commander.
Lt. Simspon was a member of the Athens Company, Tennessee National Guard, when the unit was mobilized here in September, 1940. He graduated from officer candidate school at Fort Benning, Ga., with the rank of second lieutenant. The promotion to first lieutenant was made on the day before his death. He was a graduate of McMinn County High School aand Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens being a star football player at TWC. Surviving are his father; Floyd Simpson, Athens; stepmother; two sisters, Miss Helen Simpson of Chicago and Miss Nelle Simpson, Student, TPI, Cookeville; four brothers, nelson Simpson, Athens; Roy Simpson, student, TPI, Cookeville; Bill and Milton Simpson, at home.
- Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Date of birth: 31 January 1919
- Date of death: 30 July 1944
- County: McMinn
- Hometown: Niota
- Service Branch: Army/Army Air Forces
- Division/Assignment: 134th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division
- Theater: Europe
- Conflict: World War II
- Awards: Purple Heart
- Burial/Memorial Location: Sewee Cemetery, Athens, TN
- Location In Memorial: Pillar XV, Middle Panel
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