He registered for the WW II draft on 01 July 1941; he was listed as living in Chicago and was employed as a 'machinist's helper' at Stewart-Warner Corp of Chicago. He was 5' 11" tall; weighed 145 pounds; had black hair, brown eyes and a 'ruddy' complexion.

On 15 January 1942 he entered the service from Chicago, Illinois, as a private (S/N #: 16038552) in the Air Corps. He had four years of high school education, was single, without dependents and his civilian occupation was listed as: "Undefined code".

Our records indicate that Joseph participated as a C-47 Co-Pilot during the 17 September mission in support of Operation Market in Holland (the 'Bridge Too Far').

LT. Alberti was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for successfully taking control of his C-47 after it was badly damaged by flak and his pilot, Capt. Anthony N. Hutchison lost consciousness after being seriously wounded. Lt. Alberti piloted the severely crippled and almost uncontrollable plane out of the enemy territory and successfully landed the plane at the friendly airfield.