Drafted at age 18, Allegretti sustained multiple battlefield injuries while fighting with the 104th Infantry Division across Europe before being discharged in 1946. Following his return home, he enrolled at Siena College and married Kajano in 1949, leaning on her support to transition away from the trauma of his service. He balanced a large family with a 27-year career at the New York State Thruway Authority before retiring as its accounting director.
Key points
Allegretti credits his nearly 72-year marriage to Janet Kajano as the guiding force in hi…: Allegretti credits his nearly 72-year marriage to Janet Kajano as the guiding force in his postwar recovery.
The combat veteran survived multiple severe injuries, including tank fire concussions and…: The combat veteran survived multiple severe injuries, including tank fire concussions and shrapnel wounds sustained in Germany.
After pursuing higher education at Siena College, Allegretti dedicated 27 years of servic…: After pursuing higher education at Siena College, Allegretti dedicated 27 years of service to the New York State Thruway Authority.
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Joseph “Joe” Allegretti, a 101-year-old World War II veteran who earned two Purple Hearts, says the person who helped him most after the war was not a commander, a medic, or a fellow soldier. It was Janet Kajano, the woman he married in 1949 and shared nearly 72 years with before her death in 2021. In a new Veterans Day interview with PEOPLE, Allegretti reflected on the war that shaped him, the marriage that steadied him, and the life he built after returning home to Albany, New York.
Allegretti is among the small number of combat infantrymen from World War II still alive at 101. He served from August 1943 until his discharge in January 1946, earning two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, and France’s Legion of Honour. Yet when he speaks about his life now, his thoughts return again and again to Janet, whom he called his “new guiding light.”
The war he cannot forget
Allegretti was born on May 17, 1925, and grew up in Albany during the Great Depression. His parents separated when…
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