Salem During World War II

Physical reminders of Salem’s response to World War II are present throughout the city. Like World War I, these include memorials and squares dedicated to those who fought and those who died during the conflict. These include the Mourning Victory monument in Lafayette Park, which was dedicated in 1947 to honor the 2,105 parishioners of St. Joseph Church who had served in World Wars I and II. The 35 tall Art Deco style memorial was designed by sculptor Joseph A. Coletti and features the stylized head of a female angel wearing a hood and crowned by a laurel wreath. On the base of the memorial inscribed in French is “time will not diminish the glory of their deed”.

Winter Island also contains reminders of Salem’s experiences during the second World War. The Coast Guard Air Training Station was established on Winter Island in 1935 next to Fort Pickering, continuing the island’s long history of military preparedness. During the war, the air station maintained 37 aircraft with anti-submarine patrols flown on a regular basis along the coast to guard citizens from raids by German submarines. In October 1944 Air Station Salem was officially designated as the first Air Sea Rescue station on the eastern seaboard. The station ceased operations in the 1970s and today its Art Deco style airplane hangar and the brick Colonial Revival style Barracks stand as reminders of this past. Historic images of the station in operation, including those on this page, can be found online on the Salem State University archives site.