Joseph Bacon Fraser (July 15, 1895 – March 1, 1971) commanded the 48th Armored Division of Georgia and Florida Army National Guard.

Afterwards, Fraser entered into the University of Georgia at Athens, where he played football, but did not letter, and was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

He left Boston aboard the RMS Queen Mary, the largest passenger ship at the time, with 10,000 other men and overloaded equipment.

Leston wrote in his diary that the ship sailed first to Key West, Florida, then to Rio de Janeiro.

"A zigzag course was then taken to Cape Town, South Africa, during which the ship caught fire three times — all caused, the captain felt, because of the overload on the wiring.

They entered the Tasmanian Sea and stopped in Perth, Australia, then disembarked at Sydney and caught trains up through the interior to Brisbane.

A diary entry by Lt. Lester on March 30, 1942, shortly before the battalion sailed to Port Moresby, New Guinea reads, "This is it.

Col. Joe Fraser and I met and prayed to God last night for guidance and leadership to carry our men through the battles before them.

[5] The battalion sailed unmolested through enemy waters, where they landed safely and fought off repeated air attacks by Japanese Zeros with 50-caliber machine guns over the next few months until the rest of MacArthur's forces returned.

Fraser made his gunners frequently relocate the anti-aircraft gun locations so that the Zeros had a hard time determining where to focus each new attack.

The 101st played a role in holding what allied territory remained on New Guinea until the Battle of Coral Sea thwarted the Japanese 5-pronged plan of attack on Australia.

On August 19–21, the 23rd AAA group protected the XV corps of General Patton's Third Army in making the first allied bridge crossing of the Seine River near Paris.

[7] Called back into federal service in August, 1950, Fraser was promoted to the rank of major general and commanded the 48th Infantry Division, composed of Georgia and Florida National Guard units.

[10] He took an active interest in the program of the Boy Scouts of America and was a member of the national council and vice president of region six.

In 1980, a donation was made in memoriam Joseph B Fraser to the Boy Scouts[11] that enabled them to build the Coastal Empire Council Headquarters in Savannah, Georgia.