Fifty-two soldiers from Lansford died in World War II. Each year on Memorial Day, the town honors them and all the other soldiers from the borough who gave their lives defending the United States during armed conflicts.

The Lansford Historical Society Museum also honors their sacrifice with an exhibit of memorabilia preserved by veterans from the borough.

The exhibit includes uniforms, original photos, newspaper clippings, and other artifacts from conflicts throughout the 20th century.

The collection includes an unusually large amount of authentic World War I artifacts — while other collections don’t have much from that conflict. It includes a gas mask from that time and a Silver Star which was awarded during the conflict.

Lansford has always been a patriotic town, according to historian Bruce Markovich.

The town built its first veterans’ memorial in the early 1920s, which is still standing on West Abbott Street. A second memorial was built in the ’70s.

For many years, there was a substantial Memorial Day parade through the town.

During World War II, 400 coal company employees from the Lansford area signed up to fight for their country. But just because many of the able-bodied men in town were shipped overseas, it didn’t mean that coal production stopped.

“The coal company was then running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to keep up production for the war effort,” Markovich said. “Everybody was all in during the war effort.”

It will be on display through May 30. The Lansford Historical Society Museum is open Thursdays 6-8 p.m. and Fridays noon-4 p.m. And this Saturday only, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The museum is located at 117 E. Bertsch St.