“I got married on a 3-day pass and during my honeymoon, the War was declared over.” – Ethel LaSalle
By Dalia Diaz
It’s not easy reaching 94 years of age, particularly with the memorable stories Ethel La Salle has to tell.
She was born in Somerville and attended schools there later moving to Stoneham on her final year in high school graduating in 1941. She lived there for the next 40 years and for the past twelve years she has been living in Methuen.
Mrs. LaSalle has been described as having spunk, great attitude about life, wonderful sense of humor, a very alert mind but most of all, a fighter for veterans’ benefits and comfort. Even today, she continues contributing.
She entered the Army soon after her high school graduation during the Second World War and while in the service, she met her husband Norman Francis LaSalle.
“I got married on a 3-day pass and during my honeymoon, the War was declared over,” she said joyfully. They had two daughters, Ethel and Marguerite who live in the area.
Upon her return home, she worked with the Veterans Administration in Bedford, MA and among many things she entertained the veterans playing bingo and planning bus trips for many years.
Her volunteer activities soon made her the first female Commander of the AMVETS and then 3 years serving as Commander of the American Legion of Stoneham.
Her work for veterans has not gone unnoticed. Governor Paul Cellucci appointed her to the Governor’s Advisory Council for Women Veterans.
Among other activities, Ethel is past president of the Women’s Army Corp, Chapter 14 in Boston and past president of the VFW Ladies Auxiliary.
When asked about that dynamic personality, she said, “I had five brothers and I bossed them around.”
Ethel LaSalle has received many honors in her lifetime. Most recently, she was granted lifetime membership in the Disabled American Veterans, Queen City Chapter 4 DAV in Lawrence. A group of veterans surprised her at Vitale’s Beauty Salon in Salem, NH where she goes every single Friday to get her hair done and she was all smiles in appreciation.
“This is one organization where I have not belonged!” she laughed.
Donald Silva was quick to explain how much “she has done for our veterans. Mrs. LaSalle has made over 100 blankets to be raffled off as a fundraiser for their benefit.” They had some samples of the magnificent work by her steady hands.
“I have to keep busy. When I’m not making afghans, I work on puzzles.”
Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington Cemetery
During a re end visit to Washington, she went to the memorial dedicated to women who served in the service.
According to The Women’s Memorial, almost 400,000 women served in and with the armed forces—a number that exceeded total male troop strength in 1939. They enlisted “for the duration plus six months” to free male soldiers for combat by filling jobs that matched women’s “natural” abilities—clerical work and jobs requiring rote attention to detail and small motor skills.
Commanders who had once stated that they would accept women “over my dead body” soon welcomed them and asked for more. Gen. Eisenhower told Congress after the war, that when the formation of women’s units was first proposed, “I was violently against it.” Then he added, “Every phase of the record they compiled during the war convinced me of the error of my first reaction.” Eisenhower went on to fight for a permanent place for women in the US Armed Forces.
