Etched in stone: Memorials to Staten Island's veterans are places to reflect and remember their sacrifices.
12 memorials to our veterans
Father Vincent Capodanno Monument
In South Beach on the boulevard that bears his name stands a monument to Father Vincent Capodanno. Behind the monument is a concrete time vault buried in 2003. Inside are a book, titled "The Grunt Padre," along with flowers, flags, T-shirts and tributes left behind when the Vietnam Wall Experience visited Staten Island. Father Capodanno, a Maryknoll priest, was killed on Labor Day, Sept. 4, 1967, when he refused to seek cover during the battle dubbed Operation Swift. Instead, despite his own injuries, the 38-year-old chaplain prayed with a young Marine he spotted lying mortally wounded in an open field, and fell by his side.
Battle of the Bulge Memorial
The monument to the Battle of the Bulge was dedicated in 2001 in Wolfe’s Pond Park. The walkway is paved with cobblestones sent from the governments of Belgium and Luxembourg. A star is suspended between the monument's two granite columns. It shimmers blue in the daylight and gold by dusk.
Remembering World War 1 in Travis
The Travis World War I Memorial, located at Victory Boulevard and Cannon Avenue, honors the nine residents of Travis who were killed during the "war to end all wars." The memorial is a flat stone monument with a relief depicting a Dough Boy running out of his trenches and the words "America Over The Top" inscribed above him. A Revolutionary War era cannon stands in front of the monument.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Manor Road Armory
Etched into the six-foot, red reflective granite walls of the Staten Island Vietnam Veterans Memorial are the names of the 85 who never came home. The memorial opened in 1988 on a patch of vacant land at the Manor Road Armory after small fundraising drives and a big boost of $50,000 from the late Sen. John J. Marchi. The Armory’s commander at the time suggested the memorial be placed at the gate, near the traffic lights, so drivers passing by could see it. Dedication day included a long overdue parade down Forest Avenue, the same route used for the Memorial Day Parade. There was also a visit from Gen. William Westmoreland, the Army general who commanded military operations in Vietnam during the height of the war from 1964 to 1968. "This is the finest local memorial I’ve seen in the country," he said.
Matthew J. Buono Memorial
In 2002, a long-awaited memorial honoring Matthew Buono was dedicated at Buono Beach at the intersection of Edgewater Street and Hylan Boulevard. The coral-colored granite memorial, with the Manhattan skyline as its backdrop, has an eight-foot-wide, star-shaped fountain with the names of the 50 states inside the fountain. The names of Rosebank's fallen heroes, including soldiers who fought in World War I and World War II, are engraved in the memorial's circular interior wall. Pfc. Matthew Buono, 25, was a graduate of New Dorp High School and a licensed barber with dreams of having his own business someday when he was drafted for service in Vietnam. A member of the 1st Air Cavalry Division, he was killed on April 4, 1968. Under a barrage of enemy mortar fire, he was attempting to relieve a besieged Marine outpost at Khe Sanh.
Hero Park in Tompkinsville
"One of the biggest events in the history of Staten Island will be the dedication of Hero Park and Memorial on Monday next at 11 a.m.," the Richmond County Daily Advance, the precursor to the Staten Island Advance, reported in 1920. The local chemist and philanthropist Dr. Louis A. Dreyfus and his wife Berta, a German-Jewish immigrant who was involved in the founding of Richmond Memorial Hospital, donated two hilly acres in Tompkinsville to the city for the creation of Hero Park. At its center, a large boulder nicknamed Sugar Loaf Rock holds plaques with the names of 144 deceased Staten Island servicemen. On the park's perimeter, 144 blue spruce trees were planted, each forming an individual memorial. The dedicatory plaque reads: "This Hero Park and Memorial is Lovingly Dedicated to the Memory of the Splendid Sons of Staten Island who so Nobly Gave their Lives in the World War, 1917-1918."
Cpl. Lawrence Thompson Park
In 2015, a plaque was unveiled in Cpl. Lawrence Park in West Brighton to honor its namesake. Lawrence Thompson, a native Staten Islander, grew up in the Markham Homes in West Brighton, attended P.S. 18 and Port Richmond High School, and spent his time playing on the field that would eventually bear his name. He served two tours in the United States Marine Corps, and was the first African-American from Staten Island killed in action in the Vietnam War when he was in Quang Nam on June 10, 1967. He was 20-years-old.
Great Kills Veterans Memorial
"Dedicated to the men and women who served their country with honor,” reads the inscription of the Great Kills Veterans Memorial. The memorial consists of five, two-ton black granite slabs representing the service branches of the American military: Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard. It was dedicated in 2001, adjacent to the Staten Island Railway Station at the intersection of Nelson Avenue and Brower Court and is now the starting point for the Great Kills Memorial Parade.
He is called the Hiker
He holds a rifle in the crook of his arm, wears an ammunition belt and knee-high boots with a campaign cap tilted over one of his eyes. He is "The Hiker," standing guard over Tompkins Park. The life-sized bronze statue -- its image evoking that of one of Col. Teddy’s Roosevelt's Rough Riders -- honors the Staten Islanders who fought in the Spanish-American War. As far as anyone can tell, the monument at the foot of Victory Boulevard originally was erected to honor one fallen soldier, Joseph S. Decker of Tompkinsville, the only Staten Islander to die in the Spanish-American War.
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Atop a Sunnyside hilltop sits a stone monument inscribed with the names of the 35 Staten Islanders killed in the Korean War. The Staten Island Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated in 1996 by the Cpl. Allen F. Kivlehan Chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association. At its base is the slogan they used to honor their fallen brothers: "As you see, freedom is not free."
Lady Victory in Pleasant Plains
On, June 9, 1923, an estimated 6,000 people attended the unveiling of a monument to those who served in World War I from towns in the 5th Ward: Eltingville, Annadale, Huguenot, Pleasant Plains, Prince’s Bay, Richmond Valley, Rossville and Tottenville. The Pleasant Plains Soldiers and Sailors Monument was erected on a small, triangle-shaped piece of land at the juncture of today’s Amboy Road and Pleasant Plains Avenue. It depicted the ideals of victory and peace: A woman holding a sword and palm frond high above her head as an eagle sits, wings spread wide, at her feet. Attached to the base were bronze commemorative plaques containing the names of the 493 residents of the 5th Ward who fought in World War I -- a star denoted the 13 who were killed. The present-day statue is a replica of the original, which had been damaged several times by automobile accidents. In 1970, the statue was removed for repairs and mysteriously disappeared from a warehouse on Randall’s Island. On June 8, 1997, nearly 74 years after its original unveiling, Lady Victory was re-dedicated.
New Dorp World War II Memorial
From Staten Island's Military History Trail: The New Dorp World War II Memorial was erected in September 1947 by the Citizens League of New Dorp. The large granite memorial is dedicated to the residents of New Dorp who served in World War II. The ceremonies that accompanied its unveiling included a parade that featured five marching bands, speeches by prominent local officials, and members from several veterans' groups. The inscription on the memorial reads: "New Dorp Honors Its Men and Women Who Have Served in the Armed Forces During the Second World War, 1941-1945."
Midland Beach Veterans Memorial
The original Midland Beach Veterans Memorial, a 14-foot wooden monument, was dedicated in 1942, honoring the 117 Midland Beach residents then fighting during World War II. A hurricane knocked it over in 1944 and area residents soon replaced it with another one, including the names of an additional 210 soldiers who joined the fight against the Axis powers since the original monument was erected. That memorial was removed by the city in 1955 to make way for the widening of the road. In 1992, a new memorial was erected in its place.
Staten Island War Dog Memorial
In 2004, the Staten Island War Dog Memorial was dedicated in Fort Wadsworth for the more than 40,000 K9s who served in combat since World War I. The black granite stone is engraved with the portrait of a soldier and his canine companion, along with the seals of the five branches of service. Another memorial to military war dogs is located at Camp Pouch.
Ad Choices