Joseph Anthony Canzaro was born September 12, 1920 in Utica, NY to Pasquale (Patsy) Canzaro (1894-1966) and Victoria Maida (1900-1992). His dad was from Italy and came to the U.S. in 1912. He was a cutter at a local cotton mill. His mom was born in Oneida, NY and worked at a local mill. She was just 16 years old when they married on August 23, 1917 in Utica, NY. He had two sisters, Cory (Carmela) who was older and Rose who was younger. The family lived on Mary St. in Utica, NY. By 1940 the family had moved to Frankfort, in Herkimer County, NY and all were working to support the family. Patsy was a cattle dealer, Victoria was a machine operator in a local textile mill, Joseph was a butcher in a slaughter house and Rose was working in a novelty store.

He attended St. Mary of Mt. Carmel Parochial School and was a member of that church. Prior to entering the service he was employed as a butcher by Durr's Packing Co. In September 1939 he was arrested for reckless driving, paid $100 bail and appeared in city court in Albany, NY. He registered for the draft on February 15, 1942 in Utica, NY. He was 5'-6” tall and weighed 146 pounds at the time. He had brown hair and brown eyes. He was drafted into the service on December 5, 1942 with service number 32664469. He did his training at Camps Bowie and Hood, Texas and Camp Meade, Maryland before going overseas in February 1944 as a "replacement". Replacements were single soldiers that filled combat losses in front-line units. I was unable to determine exactly when Pvt. Canzaro entered combat.

It's possible that Pvt. Canzaro was a D-Day veteran. The 12th landed on Utah Beach and moved inland toward Ste. Marie-du-Mont on June 6, 1944. By late June 1944 he appears on Company E, 12th Infantry Regiment records when they were in Huberville, Normandy, France. In early August 1944 the 12th Infantry Regiment had been pulled from the 4th Infantry Division and committed to help contain the enemy attack around Mortain, France. Pvt. Canzaro was killed in action near Saint-Barthélemy, France on August 13, 1944 in this fighting. He was buried that same day in the Marigny #1 Cemetery.

In August 1947 his family ran a series of "In Memoriem" in the local papers remembering the 3rd anniversary of his death. His body was returned home in August 1948 aboard the USAT Carroll Victory and laid to rest in the family plot in the Calvary Cemetery with full military honors.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project. This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen on Together We Served and Fold3.

(Please see - http://www.storiesbehindthestars.org).

Can you help us write these stories? Together We Served and Fold3/Find A Grave have smartphone apps that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery and read these stories of WWII fallen.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute, please contact Jim Greenberg at jim.greenberg@oneonta.edu.

SBTSProject/New York/Oneida

Sources

Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1847-1849, 1907-1936 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.

"Bodies of Three More Rome War Dead Arrive", Rome Sentinel, Rome, NY, August 23, 1948, pg. 3.

Dad's FAG - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/193951539/pasquale_m-canzaro: accessed 16 Aug 2026), memorial page for Pasquale M. Canzaro (1894–11 Dec 1966), Find a Grave Memorial ID 193951539, citing Calvary Cemetery, Utica, Oneida County, New York, USA; Maintained by DBT (contributor 46622280).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/193951838/joseph_a-canzaro: accessed August 3, 2026), memorial page for PVT Joseph A. Canzaro (12 Sep 1920–13 Aug 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 193951838, citing Calvary Cemetery, Utica, Oneida County, New York, USA; Maintained by DBT (contributor 46622280).

In Memoriem, Utica Daily Press, Utica, NY, August 12, 1947, pg. 7.

Mom's FAG - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/193952556/victoria-canzaro: accessed 16 Aug 2026), memorial page for Victoria Maida Canzaro (25 Oct 1900–Aug 1992), Find a Grave Memorial ID 193952556, citing Calvary Cemetery, Utica, Oneida County, New York, USA; Maintained by DBT (contributor 46622280).

National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001; Record Group 92: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General; Series: General Correspondence Relating to Organizations; File Unit: 314.6 T/O (European) Weekly Burial Reports 104; Report No. 104: October 01, 1944

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York State, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147

"Rites Planned for Canzaro", Utica Observer-Dispatch, September 14, 1948, pg. 4-A.

"Utican Killed in France; Another is Missing", Utica Daily Press, Utica, NY, September 4, 1944, pg. illegible.

Year: 1930; Census Place: Utica, Oneida, New York; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0102; FHL microfilm: 2341356

Year: 1940; Census Place: Frankfort, Herkimer, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02542; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 22-14

Supporting Documents