NYC Parks rededication ceremony for restored Highbridge WWI Memorial, at Macombs Dam Park
By Kevin Fitzpatrick
Staff Writer
New York City has 16 Doughboy sculptures but one has been hidden in storage for more than 40 years, after being severely damaged by vandals. Today the 1923 memorial to men who served from the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx has been restored by the New York City Parks Department and will be rededicated at ceremonies at its new home in Macombs Dam Park, across the street from Yankee Stadium.
Doughboy statue returns to park in the Bronx.Details for the ceremony are: Friday, September 28, 2018, 11:00 a.m., East 161st Street and Jerome Avenue, Bronx NY 10451.
World War One reenactors will be the honor guard, musicians, and living history component of the event. Attending will be elected officials, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, United War Veterans Council, the WWI Centennial Committee for New York City, U.S. World War One Centennial Commission, descendants of servicemen lost in the war, and area residents.
A team of researchers from The East Coast Doughboys wrote the biographies of the 21 men who will have their names once more returned to the memorial, following the disappearance of the bronze plaque in the 1970s.
Consigned for more than two decades to Parks’ monument storage, the Highbridge Doughboy once stood proudly at a small park triangle at Ogden and University Avenues in the University Heights or Highbridge section of the Bronx. It was erected to honor the 21 local servicemen who died while serving their country in World War I.
The bronze sculpture was fabricated by the local J. M. Fiske Iron works and Max Hausle, architect of several parks comfort stations, including that at Keltch Park, is credited with the monument’s design.
The derivation of the term doughboy remains in question. It was first used by the British in the late 18th and early 19th centuries to describe soldiers and sailors. In the United States the nickname was coined during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), and was widely popularized during World War I (1914-1918) to refer to infantrymen. After the war, in which Americans saw combat in 1917-18, numerous communities commissioned doughboy statues to honor the local war heroes. The Highbridge Doughboy is one of nine such statues erected in New York City’s parks.
The monument was commissioned by the Highbridge Regular Democratic Club at a cost of $6,000, and was dedicated in 1923. The statue depicts a stoic, helmeted soldier, who once gripped a rifle. In 1974 the three bronze honor rolls fastened to the granite pedestal were stolen, and in 1976 the rifle was also removed by vandals. Parks salvaged what remained of the damaged sculpture, and presently seeks funds to restore the sculpture to its rightful place, and to landscape the setting.
Hidden in storage for more than 40 years after being severely damaged by vandals, the Highbridge Doughboy statue has been repaired and is ready for installation at its new home in the Bronx.
Highbridge Doughboy statue repair details.
Macomb's Dam Park, where the WWI Doughboy memorial statue will be installed.