Joe Delong was born on June 18, 1947, in McMinnville, Tennessee. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1966, and after completing Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training as an Infantryman, he served as an Infantryman with Company B, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division in South Vietnam from February 1967 until he was captured and taken as a Prisoner of War by the viet cong in South Vietnam on May 18, 1967. After 173 days in captivity, PFC Delong was killed in action while attempting to escape from his captors on November 6, 1967. He was officially listed as Missing in Action and promoted through the ranks to Staff Sergeant before being declared dead after the war ended. His remains have never been returned to the United States.