Love your country.
Joe Panozzo
Joe Panozzo loves the United States of America so much he is willing to fight for it.
The son of Italian immigrants, he was born in Chicago and spent much of his childhood in Rockford, Ill.
In September 1939 when he was 12 years old, he and his family moved to a small town near Vicenza, Italy. World War II was beginning, and Benito Mussolini's fascist Italy was on the side of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. Life immediately became difficult when he and his brother were taken by the Italian police to be sent to an internment camp because they were Americans. A well-placed bribe from his father saved them from imprisonment.
When the U.S. entered the war in December 1941, Panozzo said he went underground, and at the age of 14, he worked to smuggle American and British pilots shot down over Italy out of the country.
"We were the 'Americanos,'" said Panozzo, now 81 and living in West Branch. "It was a difficult life, but as far as I was concerned, it was something I had to do."
In December 1943, Mussolini was overthrown, and Italy switched to the Allied side. After the Allies won, Panozzo returned to the U.S. in 1946.
He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1950 and sent to fight in Korea. He spent 18 months there and got frostbite. The injury has lingered ever since, but has not dampened his spirit or love for his country.
"I have such a passion for our country," Panozzo said. "It's beyond what you think a person who's been through two wars would have."
He was honorably discharged from the Army in 1956 after receiving a commendation from the British government for his work during World War II. He returned to Rockford and embarked on his career as an executive for several companies in Rockford and in Rochelle, Ill., of which he became the mayor from 1991 to 1995.
Panozzo wrote two books about his experiences: A recounting of his experiences in Italy, "An American in Jeopardy," and the story of his time fighting in the Korean War, "One Man's Journey to War."
"Love your country," he said. "That's all I care about."
— Rob Daniel
