Just before Veterans Day, the nation suffered a substantial loss with the death of Joe Annello, who passed away Nov. 7 at the age of 85 in Colorado.
Annello, born May 4, 1933, was perhaps best known in the region as a good friend and close ally of Hiroshi “Hershey” Miyamura, Korean War veteran and Gallup native. The two reportedly served as prisoners of war together, and that is when their bond first emerged.
The story of Miyamura and Annello is chronicled in Miyamura’s book, Forged in Fire: The Saga of Hershey and Joe.
“He was a really nice guy, I met him several times,” Dave Cuellar, head of Gallup Veterans Helping Veterans, said during a Nov. 14 phone interview. “When they were leaving their prison camp [in the Korean War], a wounded Annello told Hershey, ‘Go on, I’ll be OK.’”
Cuellar said after returning home and unaware that Miyamura was alive, Annello saw a photo of his friend in a local a paper. It turned out, Miyamura didn’t know Annello was alive, either, and the two reunited in Gallup.
“They would have a little reception at Comfort Suites whenever he came to town,” Cuellar said. “[Annello] was just a really nice guy.”
By Cody Begaye
Sun Correspondent
