January 2026 Lights of Peace Flag to Honor The Memory of Ensign Joseph Irving Segall KIA During WWII

During the month of January, the 76th Lights for Peace flag to fly at the Fort Taber – Fort Rodman Military Museum honors the memory of Ensign Joseph Irving Segall of New Bedford, the first Jewish-American youth killed in World War II.

Segall was born in New Bedford on July 19, 1917, the son of Samuel K. Segall, a prominent local physician, and Frances Segall, according to the UMASS Dartmouth library archives. He graduated from New Bedford High School and worked as a lifeguard in a Civil Service position. He attended the University of Southern California from 1935 to 1939.

He was employed by the May Company at the Wilshire Store in Los Angeles, CA from Sept. 2, 1939, to Oct. 7, 1940. This famous landmark located on Wilshire Boulevard was a flagship department store, known for its architecture and status as a major retail destination.

Segall enlisted in the United States Navy on Feb. 13, 1941, and began his active-duty service on Feb. 17, 1941. During WWII, USC was chosen by the United States government to host military training programs, including the Naval Air Cadet Flight School. Segall completed his flight training at USC and was commissioned on Jan. 20, 1942. He was assigned to the Air Corps Patrol Squadron #43. Ensign Segall was stationed overseas during WWII and was killed in action when his plane crashed in the North Pacific on July 21, 1942.

“After World War II, many of our Jewish young men came back from the war, returned to school, and opened businesses in the city. For several young Jewish men who were killed in battle, monuments had been erected in their memory,” according to the UMASS Dartmouth Library records.

A monument was built in honor of Joseph Irving Segall at the corner of County and Hawthorn Street, and named the ‘Ensign Joseph Irving Segall Square,’ by the City Council on June 24, 1948.

“Through the efforts of the Jewish War Veterans New Bedford Post 154, under the leadership of post commander Louis Barroll, the square was dedicated, and a plaque installed on a wall in front of the Jewish Community Center on April 10, 1949, accompanied by a parade which started at the New Bedford Hotel on Pleasant Street and traveled down Union Street to the County Street intersection. The wall was later knocked down

accidentally, and the plaque moved to its current site across the street, on the grounds of Ahavath Achim,” according to the UMASS Dartmouth Library records.

Ahavath Achim was a historic Orthodox synagogue in New Bedford, MA, founded by Lithuanian immigrants in the late 1800s. The “Brotherly Love,” synagogue served as a central hub for the city’s growing Jewish community with religious services, education, and cultural events before closing in late 2010 due to declining membership.