Joseph A. “Joe” Lesniewski (August 29, 1920 – May 23, 2012) was an American Army soldier and World War II veteran. He served as a Private First Class with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, Lesniewski graduated from Erie Technical High School and later served in the Civilian Conservation Corps before working for General Electric. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in October 1942 and initially sought to become a pilot. After volunteering for the airborne forces, he completed paratrooper training at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Lesniewski was originally assigned to another airborne unit in Europe but was selected for a special operation because he spoke Polish. When the operation was cancelled, he was given a choice of airborne units and selected the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was subsequently assigned to Easy Company and became a member of its 3rd Platoon.
Lesniewski parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and fought with Easy Company through the Normandy campaign, Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, and the Battle of the Bulge. During the fighting at Foy in January 1945, he was wounded in the legs and developed an infection that required hospitalization. He later returned to Easy Company and remained with the unit until the end of the war. He received two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his service.
After returning to the United States in November 1945, Lesniewski worked for the U.S. Postal Service in Erie for 37 years. He later contributed his recollections to Marcus Brotherton’s 2009 book We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers and appeared as an interviewee in the HBO documentary We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company.
Lesniewski’s wartime experiences were also depicted in the 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, in which he was portrayed by Simon Schatzberger.
Lesniewski died on May 23, 2012, at the age of 91, in Erie, Pennsylvania.
