Banks Named County Veteran Of The Month
January 20, 2021 at 2:43 a.m.
Banks Named County Veteran Of The Month
By David [email protected]
Joe was born June 7, 1939, to Joseph and Anna Banks in Cleveland, Ohio. His brother, Ernest, died at 58, according to County Veterans Affairs Officer Rich Maron.
Banks graduated from John Adams High School in Cleveland in 1958 and then finished an electronics program at DeVry Tech in Chicago in 1957.
He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1957. He was sent to U.S. Naval Training Center at Great Lakes for boot camp and electronics school.
Naval orders put him on a consecutive series of three heavy cruisers, starting in 1959. They were the USS Northampton, USS Little Rock and the USS Boston. These ships were heavy cruisers serving under the Cruiser Forces Atlantic. Their assignment was to protect America’s east coast against air and sea invasion.
Bank’s task on these ships was to service a 300-mile air search radar. He did his service to the utmost of his abilities with diligence and pride, Maron said.
Banks was honorably discharged on board the USS Boston in Boston, Mass., in May 1962.
He married Constance Banks in September 1962 and they had two sons and a daughter.
Banks would then go on to join the Naval Reserve unit in Cleveland on Dec. 15, 1964. His job was to instruct new naval enlistees in basic electronics. He would perform that duty for six years and be honorably discharged from the Reserves on Dec. 14, 1970.
He would go on to graduate from Cleveland State University in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in political science and basic business. This led to his employment with the White Motor Corporation until the specter of bankruptcy began to loom large, Maron said.
Banks decided to take a job with Zimmer Inc. in February 1980 and White went bankrupt in August 1980.
His family made the move to Warsaw to work for Zimmer in 1980.
Banks would then join the Air National Guard (then the 122nd Fighter Wing) out of Fort Wayne in 1982 and serve as the non-commissioned officer in charge of safety.
He worked with senior officers of the Wing command to ensure the Fighter Wings compliance with the Air Force Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (AFOSH).
He was promoted to master sergeant in 1994 and would begin his next assignment as the Wing Command’s first sergeant in 1994.
In 1996, Banks finally retired with 26 years of service.
Asked by Maron if there was anything he’d like to say, Banks declined and then said, “Thank you very much.”
Joe was born June 7, 1939, to Joseph and Anna Banks in Cleveland, Ohio. His brother, Ernest, died at 58, according to County Veterans Affairs Officer Rich Maron.
Banks graduated from John Adams High School in Cleveland in 1958 and then finished an electronics program at DeVry Tech in Chicago in 1957.
He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1957. He was sent to U.S. Naval Training Center at Great Lakes for boot camp and electronics school.
Naval orders put him on a consecutive series of three heavy cruisers, starting in 1959. They were the USS Northampton, USS Little Rock and the USS Boston. These ships were heavy cruisers serving under the Cruiser Forces Atlantic. Their assignment was to protect America’s east coast against air and sea invasion.
Bank’s task on these ships was to service a 300-mile air search radar. He did his service to the utmost of his abilities with diligence and pride, Maron said.
Banks was honorably discharged on board the USS Boston in Boston, Mass., in May 1962.
He married Constance Banks in September 1962 and they had two sons and a daughter.
Banks would then go on to join the Naval Reserve unit in Cleveland on Dec. 15, 1964. His job was to instruct new naval enlistees in basic electronics. He would perform that duty for six years and be honorably discharged from the Reserves on Dec. 14, 1970.
He would go on to graduate from Cleveland State University in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in political science and basic business. This led to his employment with the White Motor Corporation until the specter of bankruptcy began to loom large, Maron said.
Banks decided to take a job with Zimmer Inc. in February 1980 and White went bankrupt in August 1980.
His family made the move to Warsaw to work for Zimmer in 1980.
Banks would then join the Air National Guard (then the 122nd Fighter Wing) out of Fort Wayne in 1982 and serve as the non-commissioned officer in charge of safety.
He worked with senior officers of the Wing command to ensure the Fighter Wings compliance with the Air Force Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (AFOSH).
He was promoted to master sergeant in 1994 and would begin his next assignment as the Wing Command’s first sergeant in 1994.
In 1996, Banks finally retired with 26 years of service.
Asked by Maron if there was anything he’d like to say, Banks declined and then said, “Thank you very much.”
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