A gas mask drill failed to produce the training experience that Joe Rodriquez deserved.

Joseph Francis Rodriquez was born February 9, 1891, in California. Early records indicate that he was raised in a family that included at least three sisters. Rodriquez' draft records denote that he attended school for seven years before beginning a life of farming. For a brief period the Sisters of Notre Dame employed him at their Saratoga, California, facility. In 1917 he was apparently residing and working in a Santa Cruz County rural community.

At the time of his draft registration in June 1917, Rodriguez described himself as being five feet four inches in height and weighing 135 pounds. Following his induction into the army, he was sent to Camp Fremont near Menlo Park, California, for basic training. While undergoing gas mask training on September 28, 1918, an unspecified accident occurred that took his life.

His remains were sent to Salinas, California, and following his funeral, were buried at an unidentified location in that community.

(CAG; WRP September 28, 1918; Pajaro Valley Historical Assoc. Archives; WEP October 1, 1918 1:3)