SCOTTSDALE Joseph J. Gossen
– Joseph J. Gossen 96, of Scottsdale, AZ passed away peacefully with his family by his side on November 8, 2021. Joe was born on August 31, 1925, and lived in Chicago until he lied about his age and enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943. He was soon stationed overseas, assigned first to the 8th Air Force then to the 2nd Bomb Group, 20th Bomb Squadron as a B-17 Ball Turret Gunner. He flew a total of 57 combat missions out of Italy. SSgt. Joe Gossen returned to the States on May 8, 1945 aboard the USS Mariposa, which was “sniffed” by a German U-Boat all the way to Boston, but never attacked. Joe settled in Arizona and married Johanna Kolb on September 16, 1948. Joe and his father started the Cow Palace, a dairy farm on Baseline Road. He also attended Arizona State College. Joe worked for Salt River Project (SRP) and then Arizona Public Service (APS).
Joe and Johanna were blessed with five children but with Joe as a lineman he spent months away from his family bringing electricity to all the northern areas of Arizona. The family joined him when the citizens of Punkin Center threw an outdoor party to thank Joe and his crews for providing the town with electricity. Joe retired from APS as a general foreman after 33 years of service, earning 38 years of retirement. Joe and Johanna’s family of five included four boys (Jim, John, Jerry, and Jeff) and daughter Gretchen. The Gossen clan was heavy into scouting as Joe was their Scoutmaster for 36 years (Troop 446 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help). Joe’s dedication to serving others extended to the Phoenix Elks where he served as Exalted Ruler and was a lifetime member. Joe never shared any stories about his WWII experiences until he connected with the Veterans Heritage Project (VHP) that connects students with veterans in order to “Honor Veterans, Preserve America’s Heritage, and Develop Future Leaders”.
Joe Gossen’s service story was published in 2017 by a Veterans Heritage
Project student interviewer for the 2017 edition of Since You Asked™ and his video interview is archived with the Library of Congress. In 2018 after the deaths of his sons Jim and Jeff, both Joe and Johanna relocated to Niceville, Florida to live with daughter Gretchen. At that time, he was introduced to a “band of brothers” called the Crispy Warriors, that meets every Thursday for breakfast in Destin. Joe became the fifth WWII member of the veteran group. In 2019, Joe and two of the other WWII veterans traveled together to The National WWII Museum in New Orleans to be interviewed in connection with a fact-based narrative, entitled “Charlie’s Ashes” soon to be published by Crispy Warrior, Rich Adams. Through the Crispy Warriors, Joe was introduced to Veterans Flight and flew in a Stearman biplane. Twice Joe enjoyed the open cockpit flights during the July Pensacola Air Show. After his first flight in 2019, Joe was photographed in his flight suit by Jeff Rease with “WWII Portraits of Honor”. Anytime someone thanked Joe for his service his response was, “It was my honor and privilege to serve my country”.
In September, Joe and Johanna returned to Arizona to celebrate their 73rd Anniversary with family. He is survived by Johanna, sons John (Shery) of Scottsdale, AZ., Jerry (Tina) of Scottsdale, AZ., daughter Gretchen (Mark) of Niceville, FL., daughters-in-law Ginger and Cindy; eleven grandchildren, Ryan, Jordan, Nathan, Michael, Christopher, Stephen, David, Kyle, Jessica, Katie, and Rachel; and ten great-grandchildren, Lukas, Harvey, Dane, Eliana, Kinsley, Jack, Ella, Asher, Mark, and Hayden.
A public visitation will be held at Messinger Indian School Mortuary on Tuesday, November 16th from 5-7pm. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Scottsdale on Wednesday, November 17th at 10am, with interment to follow at St. Francis Catholic Cemetery in Phoenix.
Per Joe’s request, in lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Veterans Heritage Project www.veteransheritage.org/donate