When World War II ended, there were celebrations throughout the United States. Navy veteran Joe Lobaito of Geneseo missed out on the festivities.

“When they were celebrating in the states, I was on a boat in the middle of the Atlantic,” he said.

More than six decades later, Lobaito got his chance to celebrate. As a member of the Oct. 9 Honor Flight, Lobaito returned from Washington, D.C. to a hero’s welcome at the Quad City Airport.

“The best part of the day was the reception at the airport,” he said. “Veterans in wheelchairs were lined up in a single file, veterans who walked followed. We went through a column of men, women and children of all ages. They were waiving flags and putting their arms out to shake hands with us and thanking us for serving our country.

“The line, and this is no exaggeration, had to be about a block long. Needless to say, I became misty eyed, almost in tears,” he said. “The welcome home reception was very emotional for me. I will never forget it.”

A New York native, Lobaito joined the Navy in October 1942 at age 20. “I knew in the Navy I’d get three meals a day,” he said. “I lived on K-rations and gained 50 pounds while I was in the Navy.”
He served on a troop transport ship as a pharmacy mate, third class.

“We’d go back and forth across the Atlantic taking troops to Europe and bringing Army casualties back,” Lobaito explained.

The ship could hold around 400 on-board personnel members and nearly 3,500 troops.

“We would sail in a convoy of 10 ships,” said Lobaito. All told, Lobaito estimates he made between eight and 10 crossings of the Atlantic.

“We were sailing in the North Atlantic, so there was some rough weather. We had the bow of our ship dented on one of the trips. At times, we’d be tossed around like a cork in the bathtub,” he said.

As the ship would head toward Europe, Lobaito said he would be required to do non-pharmaceutical jobs. However, as soon as the injured were loaded for the trip back to the United States, he would be responsible for helping to care for them.

“When I heard the stories of what some of those Army casualties had been through, I felt lucky,” he said.

Lobaito’s troop transport ship sailed from New York, Boston and Norfolk, Va., in the United States to ports in England and France.

Lobaito’s service to the Navy ended in January 1946, and he moved to the Midwest to attend college first in Michigan and then in Minnesota.

Family members nominated Lobaito for the Honor Flight program, which flies World War II veterans to Washington, D.C. to see the World War II Memorial.

“My children read about the Honor Flight in the paper and thought it might be a good experience for me,” he said.

The group started its day in Washington, D.C. at the World War II Memorial. “It’s impressive,” said Lobaito. The memorial features pillars engraved with the names of each of the U.S. states and territories.

Though he’s from New York and served in the Navy as a sailor from New York, Lobaito said it didn’t occur to him to look for the New York pillar. “I’ve been in the Midwest since 1948. I looked for the Illinois and Iowa pillars,” he said.

Following their visit to the World War II Memorial, veterans had the opportunity to meet with fellow veteran and retired U.S. Sen. Bob Dole and his wife, Elizabeth.

“They both graciously posed for pictures until all of the veterans were done taking pictures,” said Lobaito.

The Honor Flight group also visited the Air Force Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial before returning to the Quad Cities.

“I’d recommend the Honor Flight to other veterans, it’s just a tremendous program,” said Lobaito.