More detail on this person: Colonel Joseph
Francis Bellochi served in the Korean- War and
Vietnam War and joined the General staff and Joint
Chiefs of Staff during his 26 years in the Army.
He was Bellochi awardec'l the Purple Heart and the
Legion of Merit He was twice awarded the
distinguished Flying Cross - an honor previously
earned by Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart
-.
He was asked to recount what it was like to pilot
a helicopter during Operation Shiny Bayonet in
Vietnam for CBS News in 2002.
But chances are, if you met Bellochi after he
moved to the Orlando area, you didn't know about
tile accolades he earned during his distinguished
military career, rich in his devotion to the men
he led.
"He was such a humble man:' his son John said.
"You'd get bits and pieces, but for the most part,
he never sat down and talked war stories!'
CoJ. Joseph Francis Bellochi died June 24 of a
heart attack He was 84.
Not long before his death, one of the men who
served aJongside Bellochi years ago wrote a letter
to his former battalion commander, thanking him
and beginning a short correspondence, sharing
Bellochi's contact information with other men he
had worked with.
''When he got the letters a couple of weeks ago,
he was pretty excited about it;' said John. "The
impact that he had on them, it was humbling for
him to read it, to reconnect a little bit!'
Word of Bellochi's passing sparked more letters.
They remembered a man of humility, a man of
humanity.
Bellochi, whose father was a cop in New York,
enlisted in the army while he was in his early 20s
and enrolled in school to become an officer 'not
long after. He would earn two master's degrees.
John, who also joined the Army as an adult,
remembers accompanying his father to his various
posts, walking with his father at the Pentagon or
driving a tank in Germany.
It was not until John joined the military that his
father began to share some of his war stories with
his son.
- After Bellochi retired from a second career in
real estate around 2000, he spent most of his time
with his wife, Lucy, whom he had met in Italy in
1958. Bellochi was a fan of whatever she cooked
but was especially fond
of her spaghetti and her potato salad,
The couple's regimen began each day with a trip to
the post office, a walk around Publix and then a
walk around Sam's Club - his delight in routine a
remnant from his decades In the military,
He always wore his baseball cap adorned with
insignia of the 10J.st and 187th battalions, as
well as his Purple Heart.
Bellochi liked the view from his hospital room
because of his view of the helipad. He was known
to devour books quickly having just finished two
military titles the day he died.
The family will schedule his service with honors
at Arlington National Cemetery. "He wants to be
with his soldiers;' John said. "That was the big
thing he wanted to do!'
In addition to his son John of Ocoee and wife;
Lucy of Windermere, Joseph Frances Bellochi is
survived by daughters Laura Anne Bellochi of
Auburn, N.H., and Liz Berkner of Orlando; four
grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
DeGusipe Funeral Home & Crematory, West
Orange Chapel, Ocoee, handled arrangements,
Burial information: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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