For 80 years, the grave of U.S. Army Private Joseph Cocco at Holy Cross Cemetery in Yeadon, Pennsylvania, has been empty. Cocco, who grew up in Overbook, was killed in September 1943 in combat in Italy.
He was 22. Only recently, DNA testing confirmed that remains interred in a cemetery in Italy were his.
On a mild November morning, the sun shone on a burial service 80 years past due.
“I thought it was amazing how many people took the time to come and to help us put him to rest today,” niece Donna Duranti of Broomall said.
Cocco’s nieces provided DNA samples two years ago to the military, beginning the process of bringing home a long-lost uncle they had never met. In many ways, they carried on the work their grandmother and mother began. Both women fought for years through letters urging the Army to find their son and brother.
“There’s a lot of emotions,” Diana Zanghi, a niece, said. “All of us, we grew up together and it was rough. He can rest in peace now.”