Joseph Liebgott was born in 1915 in Lansing, Michigan, the oldest of six children. His parents, Joseph Sr. and Mary, were immigrants from Austria. Joseph Sr. was Catholic, and raised the children as Roman Catholic. Joseph Jr. attended Catholic school. He grew up in Oakland, California. He finished 2 years of high school and worked a variety of jobs, mostly helping his father in their barber shop. He listed his occupation as "cook" in his enlistment records.

He enlisted in the Army on Sep. 9, 1942, in San Francisco. He volunteered for the Airborne, finding his way to Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Camp Toccoa, Georgia.

He participated in the Brécourt Manor Assault, manning a machine gun with Cleveland O. Petty. For this action, Robert Sink awarded both men the Bronze Star.

After fighting in Normandy and the Netherlands, Liebgott was nearing a breaking point at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. He was pulled off the line and made a Command Post (CP) runner. After a few days, Liebgott returned to the line to be with his buddies, but his feelings of stress and tension also returned. This time, he was assigned to 101st Division Headquarters S-2 (intelligence), due to his ability to speak German and interrogate the prisoners.

Joseph Liebgott's children said their father had gone missing after the war, and remained missing for three years, never even telling his parents where he went or that he had even come back. His family believes that he suffered, like many veterans, from PTSD (post-traumatic stress syndrome), and decided to "bum it" for a while, dropping out of society.

He turned up in California's Great Valley, got married, and raised a large family. He worked as a barber until his death. He never told his 8 children about being in the war. They only found out after the book and series made him known. Digging through his things in the attic, they discovered the 506th regimental scrapbook, and his jump wings.

Joseph Liebgott died on 28 June 1992 in San Bernardino, California.

Contributed by Jill Milligan (47111862)∼Served with Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, as a rifleman, and interperter, he parachuted into Normandy, Holland, and was present during the liberation of Landsberg Concentration camp. He was played by Ross McCall in the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers."

Although he was a member of 'Easy' company, he never attended any of the reunions, and it was rumored that his service time, and the horrors he had seen during that time caused him to suffer a mental breakdown. It was erroronusly stated in the miniseries "Band of Brothers," that Sgt. Leibgott was a resident of San Francisco, and drove a taxi, when in all actuality, he was a resident of Oakland, and was a barber.

When the company discovered the Landsberg Concentration Camp, he acted as translator for Major Dick Winters, and was given the heartbreaking task of ordering the prisoners back into the camp for medical treatment. This had a severely negative impact on him.

Leibgott never attended any "Easy" reunions, and never spoke about his time in service during the war.