Clinton War Memorial

Clinton War Memorial. DeWitt Clinton Park. , Who is this monument dedicated to? , This memorial honors the young men from the neighborhood who died in World War I. The monument features a pensive infantryman known as a "doughboy" holding poppies in his right hand and a rifle slung over his left shoulder., The American Expeditionary Force arrived in June 1917 and tipped the balance in favor of the Allied Forces toward the middle of 1918. the four American divisions, totaling 40,000 men who fought in Flanders, arrived in Europe in June and July 1918. The 27th and 30th Divisions were engaged in battle on the front, south of Ypres. The 37th and 91st Divisions led an attack near the Flemish towns of Waregem and Kruishoutem. The Americans suffered heavy losses, particularly in the Spitaalsbossen, not far from the present-day Flanders Fields American Cemetery and Memorial in Waregem, both of which commemorate the 368 dead and 43 missing soldiers in Belgian territory during World War I., The granite pedestal is inscribed with a verse from the famous poem by John McCrae (1872-1918), In Flanders Fields. McCrae was a Canadian physician and lieutenant colonel who was inspired to write the poem in response to the death of Alexis Helmer, his friend and fellow soldier. Helmer died in the Second Battle of Ypres, a series of military engagements in which many thousands of soldiers died in 1915 in western Belgium. The lines of the poem have resonated for generations, and its image of poppies has become a symbol of loss and remembrance., The term doughboy was widely popularized in the United States during World War I (1914-1918) to refer to infantrymen. After the war numerous communities commissioned doughboy statues to honor local war heroes. The doughboy at the Clinton War Memorial is one of nine such statues erected in New York City's parks., How was this monument created? , This poignant monument is the work of sculptor Burt W. Johnson (1890-1927) and architect Harvey Wiley Corbett (1873-1954). It was commissioned by the Clinton District Association. Johnson was born in Flint, Ohio, and studied with noted sculptors James Earle Fraser and Louis Saint-Gaudens (Johnson's brother-in-law, whose sibling was renowned artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens). Receiving many public commissions from coast to coast, Johnson also created the statue for the Woodside Doughboy (1923) in Doughboy Park in Queens., Johnson died prematurely soon after modeling this sculpture and while completing work on the Fine Arts Building in Los Angeles. At the time of his death he resided in Claremont, California, where he had sculpted one of his best-known works, the Spanish Music Fountain for the campus of Pomona College. Though he had finished the model for the Clinton doughboy, it was left to his widow Ottilie to come to New York to arrange the casting of the sculpture by Gorham Bronze and the posthumous completion of the monument. The sculpture is situated at the highest point of the historic park., The intended date of dedication, as inscribed on the pedestal, was Armistice Day (now Veterans Day) 1929, but the event was postponed to June 8, 1930. The festivities commenced with a parade from West 40th Street and 10th Avenue to the monument site, and the principal address was delivered by James S. Gerard, the former ambassador to Germany., In 1997, the sculpture was conserved through a project jointly sponsored by the Times Square Business Improvement District and the Mayor's Office of Youth Empowerment Services. In 2009, a City-funded capital improvement renovated the surrounding plaza and added a planting bed in front of the sculpture. In commemoration of the World War I centennial in 2014, the Government of Flanders, Belgium, started annually sponsoring the monument and plaza's care and landscaping.