Press Releases
Rep. Norcross Law Honoring Fallen Soldier Becomes Official with Post Office Dedication
October 17, 2016
Deptford, NJ-Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01) today attended the dedication ceremony of the U.S. Post Office in Deptford, New Jersey, in honor of late Army 1st Lt. Salvatore S. Corma II of Deptford Township, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2010. The ceremony caps off a year-long legislative effort by Norcross to rename the facility in Corma’s memory.
“Sal Corma was a true American hero. He gave his life for the freedom we enjoy today. He deserved this honor in life, not just in death. Today, this building becomes a tribute to him and an enduring legacy to the service he selflessly gave to his country,” said Rep. Donald Norcross.
Among the dozens in attendance at the ceremony at U.S. Postal Facility at 1265 Hurffville Road in Deptford, included Corma’s mother, Gertrude “Trudy” Corma, members of the Corma family, as well as friends, former classmates, and Corma’s fellow soldiers, some of whom traveled from across the country for the dedication.
“Salvatore’s favorite is expression was ‘Carpe Diem,’ (Latin for seize the day). I know we all join together on this day to seize it and treasure it,” said Gertrude “Trudy” Corma, Salvatore’s mother. “My son was a leader who put his men and his country first. I’m forever proud of him and what he did to protect our nation.”
Salvatore Corma, an Army First Lieutenant of the Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was killed April 29, 2010 by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan. He was 24-years-old. Corma is credited with saving as many as 19 fellow service members that day, by instructing them to retreat from the area where the IED was discovered.
Corma graduated St. Augustine’s Preparatory School in Buena Vista Township and was a 2008 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
A plaque and photo of Army 1st Lt. Salvatore Corma II will be affixed inside the Post Office that now bears his name. The legislation, authored and introduced by Rep. Norcross, passed the U.S. House of Representatives in April, was approved by the U.S. Senate in May, and signed into law by President Obama in June. The legislation had the support of New Jersey’s entire United States Congressional delegation.
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