Segall Square Dedication April 10, 1949

On June 24, 1948, the New Bedford City Council designated “that part of County Street immediately at  the easterly end of Hawthorn street” as the Ensign Joseph Irving Segall Square.  The designation was made after a request by the Jewish War Veterans New Bedford Post 154.  On April 10, 1949, the city and Post 154 held a parade, followed by the dedication of the square and tablet.  At the time, the location was in front of the Jewish Community Center at 388 County Street (formerly known as the Langshaw or Rodman Mansion).   Ensign Segall was born in New Bedford in 1917, went to New Bedford High School, and graduated from USC.  He entered Naval service in March of 1941 and was commissioned in the Naval Air Corps.  He was killed in action in the North Pacific on July 21, 1942.  This photograph, which also appeared in the Standard Times, is part of a scrapbook in the records of the Jewish War Veterans Post 154, Archives of the Center for Jewish Culture, MC 15, UMass Dartmouth Library.