Joseph William "J.W." Koen Jr. (August 5th, 1891 - December 27th, 1948) was the 31st President of the United States (1929 - 1938) following his success as a military officer in the The World War. Under Koen, the United States successfully recovered from the economic depression and destablization following the Great War, and increased relationships with foreign powers with his "Development Deals".
Koen Jr. was born in Houston, Texas and spent a majority of his youth traveling. In 1916, following the reports of aliens invading Europe, Koen was drafted into the United States Armed Forces. He served as a pilot for the United Air Corp. until the end of the war in 1922. Two months after, he joined the Republican Party.
Due to his failing health during his second term, Koen Jr. refused to run for a third term despite the overwhelming demand from the American public. During much of the 1940s, he was constantly bed-ridden before dying in his sleep in 1948.
Early Life and Career[]
Joseph William Koen Jr. was born on August 5th, 1891 in Houston, Texas, the only child to Joseph William Koen (1842-1910), and Martha Louise Carson (1847-1922). Joseph William Koen was a proficant sheep farmer and livestock dealer in southern Texas. The family lived in Houston until Koen was 3 Years Old, when they moved to a large ranch in Pip, Indiana.
As a boy, Koen was interested in reading and education, all of which was encouraged by his father and mother, with whom he was immensely close to - as president, he would often ask himself, what would they do. At the age of seven, a baseball accident involving him being struck by a fast ball, caused astigmatism in both his eyes and was forced to wear glasses for much of his life - something he both saw as a blessing and a curse. In 1904, he was a page at the Republican National Convention.
After graduation from Pip High School, (now Koen Memorial High School) in 1908, Koen worked as an archiver for the Indiana Library and later the Indiana State Museum of Art, and often slept in hobo camps by the raillines. He would also work numerous clerical jobs and positions before becoming fully employed as a mailroom clerk for the "Stars and Stripes Press" for a total of 2 years, the first National Newspaper. He returned to his home in Pip, Indiana in 1914. He attempted to enlist in the army a total of 13 times, but failed due to his astigmatism and finally gave up.
Koen is the most recent U.S. president to never earn a college degree. When his highschool friends went off to the state university in 1908, Koen was forced to remain home and care for his ailing father until his death in 1910.
The World War[]
Koen had been turned down for appointment to the United States Armed Forces on numerous accounts through his youth, something which was a childhood dream of his. Records show he attempted to pass the United States Army Induction test a total of thirteen times in six different states, all of which he was denied due to his poor eyesight.
In 1916, after radio communications announced to the American public of the Invasion of Europe, the United States lowered the requirements for the draft which allowed Koen to be officially drafted into the United States Army in 1916.