Searching For Joe
by Lee Ann Rust Coleman
My father, Donald B.
Rust, was from Heyworth, IL USA. Dad served from 1943-l945 in the U.S. Air Corps...15th
Air Force, 464th Bombardment Group, 778th Squadron. I am his daughter, Lee Ann Rust
Coleman, also of Heyworth, and my whole life I heard him say to Mom "I wonder what
ever became of Joe?"
In 1986, as my dad was getting older, I went on my own "mission"
to find out for him the whereabouts of Joe and how he was doing. Using any and all help - from
the Catholic Diocese, interpretation from the local university, interpretation by the International
telephone offices to call Canosa, Italy and Lyon, France - I felt it was a quest that had to be completed.
Dad's group was stationed in Pantanella, Italy. He, and some fellow servicemen,
became acquainted with a father and his 16 year old son, Joseph Capolongo, when they came
to the base to do odd jobs or detail work for the servicemen. Joe's father was quite a boxer and
could whip about anyone...so could Joe--even though Joe was afflicted with polio and was very
crippled.
Dad said he was such a nice young man and it was apparent
that the lad had no schooling. They wondered if it was because of his illness.
Friendship grew over the months and then it was time for them
to leave.
The beauty of this story is that Dad and some of the other servicemen
pooled their money together, went to town and hired a private tutor for Joe...money that should
have given him a year of schooling. They left that base and went on in the war where Dad completed
50 bombing missions before returning home.
Chasing down this family in Canosa, Italy was not easy - I telephoned
the equivalent to City Hall...and was not received in a friendly way...so I wrote them a letter.
I was then given 4 families with the Capolongo name that were
still in Canosa. I wrote to them, and a cousin wrote back to tell me that Joe had moved to Villeurbanne,
France...near Lyon, France. I then began writing and calling people in France...finally in the mail
one day I received a 3 x 5 business card of Joseph Capolongo's...he'd registered with the city of
Villeurbanne in his business as a decorator.
In 1992, Dad wrote a long letter... he had it translated into French,
then mailed it. About 9 months later, in 1993, Joe replied!!
Joe was touched beyond words and thrilled that Don (Dad) took
the initiative to find him. He remembered the American servicemen fondly.
Joe married in Italy, then moved to Lyon, France. He has 4
children, all of who went to college. One of his daughters was writing for Joe in the letter in fact.
Joe was around 65 at the time and was still doing painting, plastering, wallpapering and restoring
even though he was not in the best health. Gratitude was evident in the kind and loving words
Joe expressed and he wished he could meet Dad in person.
Correspondence continued for a couple of years, with cards,
and one daughter even wrote to me. A Christmas card was returned last year, so I, with renewed
interest, now will pursue this chapter for Dad and Joe, since my dad just passed away July 21,
2002...at the age of 83.
I welcome any veteran or their family that was a part of this
wonderful act of friendship and humanity to contact our family. My mother and I were always so
proud of Dad's time served in WW 2, as he talked so often of his missions and travels. I was
always asking questions and he proudly answered them like it just happened yesterday.
[Ed. - You may contact Lee Ann's family by U.S. Mail at 13369 E. 525 North
Rd., Heyworth, IL 61745 or via email at lacole@davesworld.net.]
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![[Graphic] Snapshots from the 464th Bombardment Group.](../images/flagd.jpg)