Corporal, US Army Air Corps
Enlisted March 24, 1941
Died October 24, 1944
Age 35

Joseph John Salata was born in Ballston Spa, New York on April 14, 1909. He was a 1928 graduate of Union-Endicott High School and attended St. Procopius College in Lisle, Illinois (today known as Benedictine University). He had been employed by IBM Endicott in the Stock Department for nine years. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus.

Joseph Salata enlisted on March 24, 1941. He served in Company A of the 803rd Engineer (Aviation) Battalion stationed in the Philippines at Fort Stotsenburg and Clark Field in October 1941. He had written his family in November of 1941, though it wasn't received until Christmas time of 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

The Japanese would invade the Philippines the same day as Pearl Harbor (if one takes into account the international date line). Originally reported missing in action on May 6, 1942. A year later his family was informed that he had been captured in April of 1942 on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. He survived the Bataan Death March. He was held as a POW at PW Camp #3 (Old Bilibid Prison Rizal Manila). 

After a year of no additional information than the status of MIA, the family wrote Congressman Edwin A. Hall. That and also an attempt to locate additional information through the International Red Cross were unsuccessful. Then, almost a year later, on May 4, 1943, the family received a letter from the War Department indicating Joseph was a prisoner of war in a Japanese prison. The letter included instructions on communicating to prisoners. The family would finally hear directly from Joseph on January 19, 1944.

Salata, along with other prisoners, were moved via Japanese freighter/troop ship (Arisan Maru). The Arisan Maru left Manila on October 21, 1944 along with 16 other ships, including three destroyers. Its destination was a POW camp in Takao in southern Taiwan. Only able to travel at 8 knots (~8.1 mph), it fell behind the convoy. On October 24th, it was found and fired upon by a US submarine. While sinking the Arisan Maru, the torpedo explosions did not kill any prisoners. Most of them made it out of the holds. Two of the Japanese destroyers returned to the location, sinking the American sub and then looking for survivors. While most of the 1871 prisoners were out, the destroyers only rescued the Japanese crew. Nine prisoners would survive with five making it to China in life rafts and being reunited with US forces. 

Joseph Salata was survived by his parents Mr. and Mrs. John Salata of Endicott, and sisters Mary Kobeski and Margaret Salata, and brother John Salata.