PEABODY — The city of Peabody has always taken a great deal of pride in the contributions of its many military veterans when they are honored on Veterans Day.
This year’s COVID-19 modified ceremony had an added twist that was 79 years in the making — the addition of a new name to the World War II Memorial.
Private Joseph Philip Sousa Jr., was on active duty at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod when he was killed in a motor vehicle accident on May 4, 1942 at the age of 21. At the time, Sousa was believed to have been a Danvers resident, so his name was never added to the memorial. Until Wednesday.
“His name was inadvertently never included on the memorial because he was believed to have been a Danvers resident, but through extensive research, we finally were able to verify he was living at Peabody at the time of his death,” said Veterans Agent Steve Patten.
“This is a special day for us at the Portuguese-American War Veterans, Post 1, because one of our WWII veterans, U.S. Army Private Joseph Philip Sousa, is being added to the city of Peabody’s WWII Memorial,” said Portugese-American War Veterans (PAWV) Commander, Post 1, Bob Sousa (no relation). “It is an honor long overdue.”
Sousa credited Post 1 member Joe Silva, Patten, Peabody city government and Mayor Ted Bettencourt for “a job well done.”
Silva said the effort was years in the making.
“I didn’t really start it, but I just kept remembering it and it bothered me,” said Silva, 90. “It just got on my brain and I couldn’t let it go.”
Sousa said that following Joseph Sousa’s death and upon the formation of the PAWV, Post 1 in 1945, the founding members, mostly WWI Veterans, made several unsuccessful attempts to correct the omission.
“A young lieutenant from Sousa’s unit at Camp Edwards used to make a pilgrimage to Peabody for years to march in the Memorial Day Parade, and he would ask a then- teenager, Joe “Brooksy” Silva, if Sousa had been added to the monument yet, and Joe would have to reply always in the negative,” said Bob Sousa.
The push to make things right started last winter when Sousa and Silva were in the hallway of the Post, at the pictures of the young Portuguese-Americans who had lost their lives in WWII.
“Joe turned to me and said, ‘If you don’t do anything else as Commander of this Post, make sure Joseph P. Sousa gets on that WWII monument so I can die a happy man,'” said Bob Sousa. “Well Joe, he is on the monument, but we’re not going to hold you to that die-a happy-man-stuff.”
Patten said he searched several national, state and county archives records and came up empty until he searched Fold 3, a private database that contains Social Security information for service members dating back to the Revolutionary War. It was there that Patten found Sousa’s hospital admittance card from Camp Edwards Station Hospital ro verify Sousa was in the service, but the record showed a Danvers residence.
A search of the 1940 census records in the Danvers clerk’s office followed, but those records listed Sousa’s residence as Danvers. Patten pulled the 1942 Peabody records and found proof he was a Peabody resident. A death certificate obtained by Patten from the Peabody city clerk’s office confirmed his findings.
“We found him and his father listed as living at 39 Gardner St.,” Patten said. “He died on May 4, so we can only conclude that the family must have moved within that year.
Patten said Sousa was one of thousands of National Guard soldiers training on Cape Cod beaches to prepare for deployment to Europe. Sousa, who joined the guard in 1941, was a field artilleryman.
“So many people spent so much time researching to get this done and they all did an amazing job,” said Bob Sousa, who closed his remarks by noting that it was only appropriate Joseph Sousa’s name be added to the memorial this week during the 75th anniversary of the formation of Post 1.
“The stars and the planets are in alignment. I want to end my speech with a message to our fallen comrade, Private Joseph P. Sousa. Thank you for your service and for making the ultimate sacrifice for your country. There is a saying in the military, ‘I got your six,’ which basically means ‘I’ve got your back.’ Know that the Portuguese-American War Vets, Joe Silva, and the city of Peabody have got your six.”
Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].
