World War II veteran Joe Belman championed Joliet causes, activism

Joe Belman still takes up causes after turning 100 in 2024.

In his early 20s, Belman’s main cause was helping the U.S. win World War II while serving as a ball turret gunner on a B-17, the bomber nicknamed the “Flying Fortress,” in 35 combat missions in Europe.

In the decades that followed the return to his hometown of Lockport, Belman has been a union leader, an advocate for Hispanic involvement in local politics, a proponent for neighborhood improvements, an organizer for a local youth baseball program, and a champion for recognition of a fellow WWII air gunner whom he calls “a real hero.”

A year ago, Belman’s focus was on having the city of Joliet proclaim a “Sator Sanchez Day” in recognition of the airplane gunner from Joliet who lost his life in a final mission over Germany in WWII.

Belman has been involved in two previous Sator Sanchez projects that include a school in his name and a statue at Collins and Ohio streets. However, he feared that Joliet residents still didn’t really know about Sator Sanchez as Belman pushed for a day in his honor.

“The idea in that is we never really honored any Joliet heroes, and I thought Sator Sanchez was a real hero during World War II,” Belman said. “He flew 64 missions.”

Sanchez, like Belman, put his life on the line in service to his country beyond the 25 combat missions required by the U.S. Army Air Force in WW II.

Belman tells his own life story matter-of-factly, although the tale is representative of the grit that led to people of his era being called America’s Greatest Generation as they emerged from the Great Depression and fought a war that saved the world for democracy.

”I was an orphan,” Belman said of his origins. “I was born in Pontiac, Illinois. My mom and dad died when I was 3 years old. I was given to a family in Lockport.”

His parents were Mexican immigrants, and Belman could have been sent back to Mexico but for the adoption that brought him to Lockport.

Belman went to Joliet Catholic High School on a football scholarship, playing as a lineman despite his size and weight of about 130 pounds.

“At that time, you didn’t really have to be a big guy,” Belman said of his football prowess.

He left high school after two years to work on the barges that went up and down the Mississippi River. When WWII broke out, Belman disembarked a barge during a stop in Keokuk, Iowa, to sign up for the draft.

It turned out to be the end of his river days.

After WWII, Belman went to work in construction at Argonne National Laboratory, which was being built in Lemont. He later got a job at the old Texaco refinery in Lockport, where Belman worked for 27 years.

Belman took on leadership roles with unions at both Argonne and Texaco, a role that would be recognized later when former state Sen. Miguel del Valle was forming the Illinois Hispanic Democratic Council to promote Hispanic involvement in politics.

Del Valle wanted Belman to join the organization in the late 1980s.

“He asked me if I would start a chapter in Joliet,” Belman said. “At the time, I didn’t think much about it. I told him I would let him know in a week’s time.”

Belman, who now lives in Joliet, decided to join the council, which would support Hispanic candidates for Joliet City Council. The Illinois Hispanic Democratic Council backed Manuel Palacios, who became Joliet’s first Hispanic city council member in 1991.

Joliet, which has a growing Hispanic population, now has two council members of Hispanic heritage – Cesar Cardenas and Cesar Guerrero.

The Illinois Hispanic Democratic Council got involved in community issues as well, Belman said. It advocated for infrastructure improvements on Collins Street, which has become a corridor for independent Hispanic businesses.

Belman’s contributions were recognized in February when he turned 100 in proclamations by the Joliet City Council and the Illinois General Assembly.

The U.S. Congress also recognized Belman in March with a proclamation for his 100th birthday.

“Making it to the century mark is an accomplishment,” the congressional proclamation reads in part, “but it is not just about how many years you live, it is about how you live them. And Joe has packed a lot in since 1924.”