Joseph was born in Milwaukee, on Dec. 29, 1926, the only child of Harold and Lorraine (Weckerle) Bump and was later lovingly adopted by his step-mother Estelle (Mummert) Bump. At 17 he volunteered for the U.S. Navy to fight in World War II and was a Seaman First Class in the Amphibious Forces in the Caribbean. He served on LST 664, re-fitted as a Submarine Hunter, which protected Allied shipping from German U-Boats. Joe was the radarman for the entire flotilla.