Joseph Zaloga

Mineman Second Class

Purple Heart

Killed in Action 3 May, 1945

Joe didn't have to be aboard, in fact he stayed even though he was certain  he would never make it home.  He was the only surviving son, and could have requested less hazardous duty.

His brother, Edward,  was "an Army infantryman killed in action five months earlier in Germany on Christmas Day.  Joe was 23, Ed was 26.  They left behind only their sister, Helen, and mother, Catherine...  Their bodies were later brought home from the Pacific and Europe and the brothers are buried alongside each other in an Albany, NY Catholic cemetery.  Albany's American Legion Post 1530 is named for the brothers.  A small memorial for a couple of brothers who loved America." -- Lloyd Boles