By Mark Zimmaro
It can be pretty tough to get one past Joe DeMarco.
With 100 years of wisdom, the United States Marine Corps World War II veteran assumed he was going to Parx Casino in Bensalem to play craps, harking back to his days of rolling dice down the alleys of South Philly.
He eventually was able to throw dice on Aug. 9, but first, he was thrown a party. DeMarco was greeted by friends, family, fellow vets and local politicians, who all wanted to say, “Thank you,” for DeMarco’s service and celebrate his longevity.
“I never met him until today,” said Jerry Fretz, Director of Security at Parx Casino. “But to see all the veterans that came from the home, his buddies, here with him. It just makes you feel good. I’m a veteran myself.”
Fretz said he was told of DeMarco’s birthday by Brig. Gen. Maureen Weigl, who is the Deputy Adjutant General for Veterans Affairs in Pennsylvania.
“She said she had a veteran in the Delaware Valley and that he was going to be 100 years old,” Fretz said. “All he wants to do is come to the casino and play craps. They didn’t ask for anything else. I went to our CEO (Eric Hausler) and asked if we could do something special and he said whatever you want to do. That’s how it came to be but it just got bigger and bigger from there.”
DeMarco was escorted from his home at the Delaware Valley Veterans Home on Southampton Road in Northeast Philadelphia by Bensalem motorcycle police to the casino, which featured a tribute to DeMarco on the gigantic illuminated screens atop the front of the building. Bensalem Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo was one of the first to greet DeMarco in the lobby of the casino, as dozens of people carried balloons and followed DeMarco to the Liberty Bell Beer Garden in the rear of the casino.
DeMarco was presented with proclamations, a cake and food and drinks for all the guests.
“As we know, there aren’t many World War II veterans left,” Hausler said. “And we’re losing that history and those stories and I hope that we keep them and preserve them. It’s important to us here. We value our freedom and our rights of being an American, so thank you for protecting those for us.”
DeMarco said he was happy to be joined by some of his buddies from the Veterans Home.
“There’s a lot of people here who are veterans,” DeMarco said. “God bless them.”
DeMarco grew up on the 800 block of Wilder Street near the corner of 8th and Dickinson streets. He was young when the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor broke through. Too young, actually. But it didn’t stop him from rushing to the recruiter’s office.
“He’s proud that he served in the armed forces,” said DeMarco’s daughter Paula Lizzi. “It was something he wanted to do. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, he ran and joined, unbeknownst to my grandparents. He was only 17. (The military) kicked him out and he came right back when he was 18.”
DeMarco served in the South Pacific, and helped fight off a Japanese ambush at Guadalcanal. Once he returned stateside, DeMarco worked in a tailor shop and sold beer at Phillies games. He had three children with his wife before they divorced and lived independently until the age of 98 when a blood clot was discovered in his leg.
“He lived by himself until he was 98,” Lizzi said. “Family would help out and take him shopping, but he cooked for himself. After the blood clot, they assessed him and told him he could no longer live on his own.”
DeMarco found a caring atmosphere at the Veterans Home and still loves to shoot dice at the craps table when casino trips are organized. Before that happened at Parx, DeMarco received a flag that flew over the Capitol Building on his 100th birthday, and was notified that his military accomplishments were registered in the congressional record. It made the wait not so bad.
“He was more patient than normal,” Lizzi said with a laugh. “When they told him they were going to get a group together from the Veterans Home and have a casino day, he was really excited, but he enjoyed the whole day.”
