Joseph F. Boschetti, November 20,1943. Son of the late Rosario and Julia Boschetti, Joseph was killed at the age of 23 on November 20, 1943 in a battle on the island of Bertio in Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands. He was a member of Company A, First Battalion, 18th Maine Division, Fleet Maine Force. The Battle of Tarawa resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,000 U.S. service members. Recovery of those killed in the battle began in 1945 but Joseph's remains were not identified. In 1949 all unidentified remains were interred "unknown" at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.  In 2017 Joseph's remains were identified through anthropological analysis bolstered by DNA analysis conducted by scientists at the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System. His remains were returned to Philadelphia for burial on November 27, 2019.

Joseph is survived by two sisters, Mary Stranieri, age 97 and Eleanor Geisheimer, age 92 along with many nieces, nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews.  He is also the brother of the late Nicholas, Christine, Peter and Rosario Boschetti, Jr.  Relatives and friends are invited to Viewing on Saturday, November 30 from 9 to 11 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Church, 146 Rector St., Philadelphia PA.  A Funeral Mass will follow at 11 a.m. Interment is in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

Koller Funeral Home