Joseph A. Germanero

Joseph Anthony Germanero, went home to be with the Lord December 10, 2013, departing his Buena Park home at the age of 95.

Joseph was born to Giuseppe and Rose "Rozina" (née Arzenti) Germanaro, who emigrated from Calabria, Italy, to Barnsboro, Pa., in the early 1900s. Joseph, born in 1918, was the third-youngest of 10 children.

Young Joseph admired his father Giuseppe's strong work ethic, as he proudly thrived to provide for his wife and children during the Great Depression. Giuseppe's will to provide for his family led him to raise and grow most of what went on the family's table. He also relied on skills learned in the Italian Army Cavalry to train his horses to deliver carts of coal to the Barnesboro townspeople.

The images of Giuseppe's hard work and enduring will, as he hauled coal by horse and truck, and worked the land, were foundational to the character cultivated in Joseph. Like many boys, he wanted to be like his father.

Joseph, who would go on to post a genius-level IQ and invent a variety of things both in the workplace and at home in his garage in later life, had little interest in academics. His joy as a youth was in working beside Giuseppe while the other Germanaro siblings studied or learned a trade away from home.

Joseph never lost the lessons he learned working beside his father. Pride was instilled, determination was developed and resolve was born. His indomitable will was a trait that would permeate everything he did in life.

Joseph left school early to earn money to help get the Family through the Great Depression. In addition to helping his father every chance he got, he began working in the coal mines at 12-years-old, where he picked up his life-long habit of chewing tobacco.

When Roosevelt's New Deal arrived Joseph traveled to the southwest, where he built state highways and canals. He landed a job delivering the rock used to build roads before he was old enough to legally drive. When the foreman learned Joseph was only 15-years-old and driving the large dump truck he attempted to terminate his youthful employee. It was at that point all the men on the crew demanded Joseph stay on or they will quit.

They said, "We don't care how old he is, he's the best driver you have. The others just dump the material in a big heap and we have to spend time spreading it out, Joseph spreads the material evenly right out of the truck. If he goes, we go."

When Joseph was done driving out west, he returned to his father's home albeit briefly. Joseph had been talking to an Army recruiter and decided the service would provide a way to keep from depending on his father. Giuseppe immediately dismissed the idea.

He cautioned Joseph, "You'll never make it with your temper. You will end up in the stockade!"

Joseph didn't relent in his request, imploring his father to sign the papers so he could join under age. Giuseppe begrudgingly agreed.

It wasn't long before his father's stockade warnings nearly proved prophetic. Joseph threw the first officer who attempted to pick on him down a flight of stairs on his first day of enlistment, nearly killing him. Joseph barely had time to catch his breath before the injured officer demanded he be imprisoned. A senior enlisted man, acting just in time, offered to the Commanding Officer that Joseph had not yet taken the Oath of Enlistment, and therefore could not be imprisoned. This was one of many times Joseph knew someone was looking out for him.

Joseph quickly learned the value of discipline, and consequently went on to great success in the Army, attaining the wartime rank of Master Sergeant, and the peacetime rank of Sergeant First Class (E-7). He stormed Normandy Beach as part of the D-Day Invasion in 1944, and marched all the way to 18 miles of Berlin. He carried around a couple of pieces of shrapnel embedded in his body by German artillery for the rest of his life, but recovered quickly enough to be on the front lines again as he fought his way through the storied, "Battle of the Bulge."

While in Germany Joseph met the love of his life Erna Ria Hess. Joseph courted her following the war and the couple married in 1953. Their marriage would span 59 loving years. His career in the Army would take them all over the United States and the world. Erna gave birth to Joseph's daughters Elizabeth (Betty) in 1955, Joann in 1956 and Josephine (Josie) in 1959 (d.1981). In addition to serving with distinction in WWII, Joseph was the Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge of his company as part of the Korean Military Advisory Group (KMAG). During the Korean War, he trained the Republic of Korea Army. Joseph's distinguished military career spanned 23 years and 2 wars. Some of the units he served in include; the 82nd Airborne, the 101st Airborne, 3rd Army, 8th Army, and the 77th Special Forces.

Joseph would honorably discharge from the Army in the early 60s.

By 1962, the Germanero family was looking to settle down somewhere within U.S borders. While visiting his brother Mike in Long Beach, Joseph's family fell in love with nearby Orange County. Erna and their young children loved the weather and climate. The Germaneros soon settled in Buena Park, with Joseph finding work in nearby Long Beach at McDonnell Douglas aircraft.

Joseph was a beloved neighbor in his Buena Park community, always stopping to say hello to friends and offering help to anyone in need. He fixed the vehicles of many neighbors and used his skills as a craftsman to help anyone who needed a hand with their building projects, never charging for his labor.

Joseph had various job titles and improved many processes at Douglas over the next several years, finally retiring after 18 years of service.

Beginning retirement in his early 60s, Joseph didn't slow down one bit. He began several days of each week with a workout at a nearby health club. He continued tinkering in his garage, painting and rebuilding vehicles, repairing and expanding his home, repairing watches and designing his own jewelry.

Two of his greatest loves were growing much of the family's food in his backyard garden, and taking his grandson to Jin Pal Kim's Hapkido Academy of Martial Arts. While helping coach his grandson into his 70s, he attained his own blue belt ranking. Joseph always astonished the younger generations with his tremendous power. Despite his age, Joseph was able to bench press twice his weigh, and break several boards with a single punch.

Three things anyone who knew Joseph always remember are his love for his family, his faith in God and his love of his country. He spent many of his golden years with his two grandchildren, always sharing stories, offering advice and helping provide for them.

Joseph, who grew up Catholic, always credited the Lord with getting him through two wars, back and heart surgeries, and anything else life threw at him. He began a period of soul searching in the 70s, visiting the services of every major faith and reading their religious texts. When Joseph was introduced to Calvary Chapel, a non-denominational Christian Church in the 70s with a strong emphasis on bible teaching, he fell in love with reading the Bible. He accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior, and was baptized by Pastor Chuck Smith in Corona del Mar. He shared his faith whenever the opportunity would arise but was never pushy, knowing it's the Father's job to draw believers unto his Son, Jesus Christ.

Joseph contributed to many ministries over the years, and was very politically active and outspoken. He unwaveringly stood by the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence, and rejected any political efforts to encroach upon them, whether it be in the name of security or the so-called common good. He abhorred "big government," agreeing with President Ronald Reagan that, "The nine most frightening words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

Joseph is survived by his wife Erna, his oldest daughter Betty, daughter Joann and his grandchildren Joseph and Shalon. Joseph is also survived by his sister, Roseanne Hudson of Richfield, Conn. Joseph maintained close contact with his surviving siblings through the years, speaking regularly via telephone to sister Rosanne, and brothers Albert Germanaro and Mike Germaneri until their deaths in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Joseph will be buried at Forest Lawn in Cypress with full military honors in respect of his distinguished Army service. The viewing is Wed. Dec. 18 from 4-8 p.m. The funeral service is Thu. Dec. 19 at 2 p.m. The Germanero Family give heartfelt thanks to all who helped care for and keep Joseph in his own home during his final days in this world, as he had hoped.