Rome, NY WWII Fallen

Pvt. Joseph F. Salce

U.S. Army 32744793

103rd Infantry Division, 409th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, E Company

“The Cactus Division”

Joseph Frank Salce was born April 17, 1924, in Rome, Oneida County, New York, to Antonio “Anthony” (1877-1946) and Nicoletta Caldarelli (1893-1962) Salce. Joseph was the fourth of four children born to Anthony and Nicoletta with his siblings being Louis (1916-1981), Jennie Rose Sassone (1919-1996), and Dominick “Nick” (1920-1984).

Both Antonio “Anthony” and Nicoletta were born in Italy and married there in 1912. They immigrated to Rome, New York, on the RMS Cedric, arriving in New York City on March 1, 1913. Anthony applied for naturalization on March 19, 1915. Anthony registered for the draft on September 12, 1918, in Rome, Oneida County, New York. He was employed as a laborer at Revere Copper and Brass in Rome, NY. He listed Italy as his country of citizenship and as a declarant for U.S. citizenship.

Antonio enlisted in the New York National Guard on June 28, 1916, and served at Camp Upton, New York.

In the 1930 U.S. Census, the family lived at 118 Third Street, Rome, New York, and Anthony was employed at General Cable Corporation as a laborer. Nicoletta Salce was granted U.S. citizenship in December 1930.

In July 1935, Joseph was a member of the “Know Rome Club” at the East Rome playground. He was also a member of a playground safety patrol squad for the East Rome playground. In June 1941, the Works Commission of Rome appointed Joseph to the East Rome playground. Joseph assisted with an ice cream social at the East Rome playground in August 1941.

In the 1940 U.S. Census, the family continued to live at 118 Third Street in Rome. Anthony was listed as an alien and Nicoletta as a naturalized citizen. Anthony was employed as a laborer at General Cable Corporation. Joseph was 15 and a student.

Draft Registration Card (front of card)

His daughter's high school senior picture

Joseph registered for the draft at age 18 on June 30, 1942, in Rome, Oneida County, New York. He was 5’6” tall, weighed 135 pounds, and had black hair and brown eyes. His employer was General Cable Corporation of Rome, and he lived with his parents at 118 Third St in Rome. His brother, Louis, of the same address was listed as “the person who will always know your address.”

January 25, 1943, 178 men from the Rome, NY, area were sent to Utica, New York, for physical examinations prior to entering military service. The Army induction team accepted 153 of these men. Of those, twelve elected to waive the seven-day furlough and leave immediately for an Army reception center. Joseph Salce was among those twelve men. Joseph received training at Camp Bowie, Texas, and Camp Gruber, Oklahoma.

Joseph married Carmella Recchio of Rome in 1943. A daughter, Nicoletta, was born in October 1943. Joseph was overseas and never saw his daughter.

In August 1943, Pvt. Salce was with HQ Battery, 932 Field Artillery Battalion, at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. On August 16, 1943, he was listed as AWOL on the Company Morning Report. He was on duty at 10 p.m. on the August 17, 1943, Company Morning Report. Pvt. Salce was sent overseas in August 1943.

By March 1944, Pvt. Salce was attached to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 409 Infantry Regiment, 103 Infantry Division. His MOS (Military Occupation Specialty) was 745, Rifleman, and 746, Automatic Rifleman. Pvt. Salce saw service in Africa, Italy, France, and Germany. He was killed in action by artillery shell fragments on March 23, 1945, near Silz, Germany. Pvt. Joseph F. Salce is buried in Plot A, Row 23, Grave 31, at the Lorraine-American Cemetery and Memorial, Lorraine, France.

The Facebook page, WW2 Colourised Photos, (https://www.facebook.com/worldwarincolor) has a photo of the Silz area of Germany as it looked on March 23, 1945, with the following description:

23 March 1945
An American M4A1 (76mm) Sherman tank of the 14th Armoured Division moves past a roadside littered with debris from the retreating German forces near, Silz, Germany. This tank is fitted with a .30-caliber machine gun instead of the usual .50-caliber Browning M2 HB. Amongst the German artillery can be seen a 10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzer. ".......shortly after the Task Force cleared Reisdorf, the Regimental Command Post displaced to Birkenhordt for the night from it's location just south of Reisdorf. Task Force Rhine proceeded to Silz via Blrkenhordt and arrived there shortly after midnight (22 March). An enemy antitank gun was destroyed before the surprised enemy could man it and the town was set afire as the tanks moved through en-route
to Munchweiler." "Between Silz and Munchweiler the tanks overran a column of the retreating enemy on the road and destroyed it." (The Operations OP, 409TH Infantry Regiment 1OSD Infantry Division).

The following information about Silz, Germany, is from Google (AI Overview):

Silz is situated in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany, which was part of the American occupation zone after the war. In March 1945, American forces, including elements of the 761st Tank Battalion, engaged German forces in Silz as they advanced towards the Rhine River. During the fighting, American tanks struck an ammunition dump in the town, causing a massive explosion that led to a firestorm that engulfed Silz. Houses and other structures, also used to store munitions, exploded, leaving the town in ruins. This destruction was part of the broader fighting along the Siegfried Line, a German defensive line built during the 1930s that stretched for 630 kilometers (390 miles) along Germany's western border and included bunkers, tunnels, and tank traps. The fighting in Silz was intense, with Allied tanks encountering and destroying an anti-tank gun and overrunning a retreating German column on the road between Silz and Munchweiler. Like many areas along the Siegfried Line, Silz suffered significant damage during the war. The destruction of homes and infrastructure was a common experience across Germany due to Allied bombing and ground combat.

Pvt. Salce is remembered on Page 110, World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel from New York, 1946, and Page 12966, US Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939-1945. He was the 65th Roman to give his life for his country. He was posthumously awarded the Rome Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart.

Joseph’s brother, Cpl. Dominick “Nick” Salce, was stationed in India at the time of Joseph’s death. Jennie’s husband, Joseph J. Sassone, served in the U.S. Army from October 1942 to October 1943. He was discharged from service due to disability for defective vision.

Joseph’s father, Antonio “Anthony” Salce died July 5, 1946, at age 68, after a yearlong illness. Joseph’s mother, Nicoletta Caldarelli Salce, lived to age 69. She died October 30, 1962, in the Rome, NY, City Hospital. She was a Gold Star Mother and member of St. John the Baptist Church. Anthony and Nicoletta are buried in Saint John’s Cemetery, Rome, New York.

Joseph’s wife, Carmella Recchio Salce, married Weldon Russell in 1948. Carmella worked at the Rome Nursing Home and Weldon worked at General Cable Corporation. Besides Joseph and Carmella’s daughter, Nicoletta, the couple had three sons.

Nicoletta Salce, daughter of Carmella and Joseph, the daughter he never knew, was an honor student and active with the Student Council of Staley Junior High School. She graduated from Rome Free Academy in 1961. There she was active in Red Cross Council, De-O-Wain-Sta (yearbook) business staff, National Junior Honor Society, bowling and volleyball. Nicoletta studied nursing at Crouse-Irving Hospital in Syracuse, New York. On September 4, 1964, Nicoletta graduated from the Crouse-Irving Hospital School of Nursing and accepted a nursing position with Rome Hospital. On September 5, 1964, a graduation and engagement party was held for Nicoletta and her fiancé, Martin W. Gruber, Jr., also a graduate of Rome free Academy and a student at Idaho University.

End notes: This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars Project, a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3 web sites. Can you help write these stories? These stories will be accessible via smartphone app at any war memorial or cemetery. If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact hillerson@beyondbb.com.

Resources:

FindAGrave:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56660374/joseph-f-salce

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46283751/antonio-salce

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46283756/nicoletta-salce

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46283754/louis_d-salce

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46283755/mary_nancy-salce

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/264025770/jennie-sassone

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/183088263/joseph_j-sassone

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27032921/dominick_n-salce

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27032810/carmella_a-russell

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27032761/weldon_a-russell