When duty called, at age19, Joseph D. Botto was stationed at Wheeler Field in Hawaii. He was a crew chief for the crash wagon, the emergency crew for U.S. fighter planes, and was on duty the morning the Japanese attacked. He was a Mason and past President of the Old Dominion No.1 Chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors' Association.

After his honorable military career, Joseph enjoyed much of his active younger years as a private aviator flying his single-engine Cessna aircraft in the Virginia and Maryland regional area. In his later years, Joseph enjoyed sharing the details of his aviation experiences with his family, grandchildren and friends.

Joseph Botto, 85, died on February 28, 2008 at his home in Lansdowne, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, his children requested that contributions be made to the "Hall of Honor" at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum) in memory of Joseph and his enthusiasm for aviation and flying.