HEROES of
CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS JOSEPH T. ANGELO
Headquarters Company, 304th Tank Brigade
PRIVATE JOSEPH T. ANGELO was born on February 16, 1896 in Lattimer, Pennsylvania, a small town approximately 1 mile northeast of Hazleton. As of this writing little is known of his early years. The town was originally known as Lattimer Mines. The family first appears in Camden City Directories in 1904, at 636 North Front Street in North Camden. By 1908 the family had moved to 4 Fogarty Avenue, and by the time the 1910 Directory was compiled they had move to 1 Fogarty Avenue, where they stayed into 1912 before moving to 2230 Carman Street in East Camden. The 1914 Directory shows a move to 2310 Carman Street and while the 1915 Directory shows a move to 2410 Carman Street, it is likely that this was a typing error and the family was still at 2310. Anthony Angelo and family do not appear in Camden Directories again until 1920, where they are listed at 2310 Carman Street. |
By June of 1917 Joseph T. Angelo had relocated to Penns Grove, New Jersey and was working at the nearby DuPont gunpowder plant at Carney's Point. He either enlisted or was drafted into the United States Army, and once overseas was assigned to the medical detachment of the 304th Tank Brigade. The brigade was commanded by Colonel George S. Patton Jr., who would go on to great fame during World War II. |
Private Joseph T. Angelo |
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World War I |
Joseph
T. Angelo was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions
during the Meuse-Argonne offensive on September 26, 1918, while serving
as
Colonel Patton's orderly. During the battle, Patton was seriously
wounded by a machine gun in an exposed position. Showing great courage
under enemy fire, Angelo dragged Patton to safety. He had thus saved
the life of the man who would one day become a legend. "We went over the top at 6:30 in the morning. We had 150 tanks on the move and were plowing through a dense fog. As I was the Colonel’s orderly I accompanied him in the advance. We had fifteen men and two first lieutenants in our party. The tanks followed us. I was walking by the side of the Colonel, but when we came to a crossroad the Colonel told me to remain there and be on the watch for Germans. While
I was on duty two American Doughboys came along. I asked them what what
[sic–their] mission was they replied that they were ‘just mopping up.’
‘Well,’ I said, ‘if you don’t get out of here you will get mopped up,
as the Germans are pouring plenty of lead our way.’ When several high
explosive shells burst the Doughboys took refuge in a shack. A moment
later a shell hit the shack. The Doughboys were blown to atoms. A
moment later I saw two German machine gunners from behind a bush and
they fired on me. I returned the fire and killed one; the other one
beat it. ‘Come on, we’ll clean out these nests,’ shouted the Colonel, and I followed him up the hill. The Colonel was sore and couldn’t understand why our boys couldn’t break up those nests. Then he saw the tanks were not moving and sent me to see Captain English [who would later be killed] . . . to find out the cause. The tanks were stuck in the mud. The Colonel ordered me to follow him and when he reached the tanks, almost hub deep in the mud, he grabbed a shovel and began digging the tanks free. Other men and I also got busy digging. The Germans were sending across a heavy artillery fire, but finally we got the tanks moving and took them over the hill. The Colonel here found some infantrymen who did not know what to do, as their officers had been killed. The Colonel instructed me to place them with the tank detachment. Later the Colonel told me to get around to the side and wipe out the machine gun nests. ‘Take fifteen men with you,’ he ordered. ‘I’m
sorry,’ I told him, ‘but they have all been killed.’ ‘My God! They are
not all gone?’ the Colonel cried. When I told him the infantrymen had
been killed by machine guns he ordered me to accompany him, declaring
he would clear them out. I assisted the Colonel into a shell hole, bandaged his wounds and took observations of our surroundings. Shells flew all about us. Two hours later the Colonel revived and ordered me to go to Major [Sereno] Brett and instruct him to assume command of the tank corps [sic—304th Brigade]. I found him and did so. Then [I] reported back to the Colonel. A few moments later the Colonel, with three tanks, one French and two American, camped about twenty yards from the shell hole. ‘Jump out there,’ the Colonel ordered, ‘and scatter those tanks or they will be blown up.’ I rushed out, gave the order and came back again. The American tanks got away, but the French tank was shot to pieces and the men killed. The colonel then ordered me to get out on top of our shell hole and prevent any oncoming tanks from getting below us, the fire from the enemy being terribly heavy. Then the Colonel said, ‘Joe, the Germans have been making this shell hole a living hell since you left. Get a tank and wipe out those nests.’ This was done and after that I found four infantrymen who carried the Colonel to the rear." |
Distinguished Service Cross Citation | |
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The
President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of
Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished
Service Cross to Private First Class Joseph T. Angelo (ASN: 243496),
United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving
with Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade, Tank Corps, A.E.F., near
Cheppy, France, 26 September 1918. Within 40 meters of the German
machine guns, Private Angelo carried his wounded commanding officer
into a shell hole and remained with him under continuous shell fire for
over an hour, except when he twice carried orders to passing tanks. |
1919-1924 |
Joseph T. Angelo returned to New Jersey after being discharged from the Army. By the end of 1919 he was boarding at 112 North 30th Street, the home of Mrs. Emma J. Kellum, a widow. He soon moved to 1016 South 5th Street, and found work in one of Camden's shipyards. He was listed at that address in the 1920 and 1921 City Directories. Shortly after the 1921 Directory was compiled, Joseph T. Angelo married. He and wife Sarah are listed in the 1923 and 1924 City Directories at 2415 Sherman Avenue in Cramer Hill. A daughter, Betty, was born around 1924. Joseph T. Angelo does not appear in Camden City Directories after this point, apparently having moved to the 8431 Holman Avenue in the Delair section of Pennsauken, New Jersey, where he lived out his years. |
The Great Depression and The Bonus Army - 1932 |
In 1932, while Patton continued his path on his famous military career, Joe Angelo had returned to civilian life. He was unemployed and suffering along with many other veterans from the effects of the Great Depression. As a result, he joined the Bonus Army movement. The Bonus Army was a movement of First World War veterans demanding monetary compensation for their roles in the war. The particular issue was that these veterans had been promised compensation but they were not due to receive it until 1945. Given the realities of the depression, the veterans such as Joe Angelo demanded that they receive the money immediately. The veterans marched on Washington D.C., setting up camps in order to protest against the administration of President Herbert Hoover. The Last Meeting of Joseph Angelo and George Patton On July 28, 1932, troops were ordered into the camps to quell the protest. In the resulting melee, two veterans were killed and many were injured. The commander of the operation was Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur. Dwight D. Eisenhower and George Patton, the man whom Joe Angelo had saved so many years before, were there in subordinate roles. In the aftermath of the assault on the camps, Angelo approached Patton, but was harshly rejected. The last known words between the men were uttered by Patton: "I do not know this man. Take him away and under no circumstances permit him to return."
After this he explained to his fellow officers that Angelo had "dragged
me from a shell hole under fire. I got him a decoration for it. Since
the war, my mother and I have more than supported him. We have given
him money. We have set him up in business several times. Can you
imagine the headlines if the papers got word of our meeting here this
morning. Of course, we'll take care of him anyway." |
Camden Courier-Post - June 9, 1932 |
John L. Gallagher -
William Bradley - Edward Wharton - Karl H. Meyer |
1940s |
After the breakup of the Bonus Army, Joseph T. Angelo returned to his family in Pennsauken. When the census was taken in 1940 he was working as a rodman with a W.P.A. road crew. He attempted to re-enlist in the Army after Pearl Harbor but was rejected due to his age. He did register for the draft in the spring of 1942, as all men aged 46 to 65 were required to do at that time as a precautionary move. None, however were called to service.
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Last Years |
Joseph T. Angelo and family stayed in Pennsauken at the Holman Avenue address for many years. He was still a Pennsauken resident at the time of his passing in July of 1978. |