Tillary Street is a busy street that begins and terminates on Cadman Plaza in Downtown Brooklyn. I tend to avoid it because it is heavily trafficked, but I had a reason to walk down it for a few blocks on Sunday, May 26, 2024. In part because this was one day prior to Memorial Day, I took a moment to stop when I passed by the McLaughlin Park World War I Memorial, which sits at the intersection of Tillary and Jay Streets.
Memorial Background
According to the New York City Parks Department information for the site, the memorial tablet was donated by the Seawanhaka Democratic Club and dedicated in 1919. It was built and engraved by Danby and Nute out of Indiana limestone and granite.
Dimensions: Stele H: 12' W: 6' D: 23"; Base H: 15" W: 9'4" D: 5'
I had walked by the Memorial before and noted that the names of the New Yorkers who fought and died in the First World War are now difficult to read – most likely the result of more than a century of weathering and a lack of effort to ensure continued readability. Fortunately, the New York City Parks department does list on line all of the names on the Memorial, but I decided to try taking photographs of both the front and the rear of the Memorial and then take some time on Memorial Day to edit the photos using Shotwell to try to bring out the original names. Below, you will see the results of my efforts alongside the list of names as presented on the New York City Parks Department website.
Front
Let us begin with the bottom-half of the front of the Memorial, which details the purpose of the site. I note that this is the easiest section to read when looking at the Memorial in person.
IN LOVING MEMORY / OF THOSE MEN OF THIS DISTRICT / WHO IN THE WAR OF 1917 AND 1918 / FOUGHT AND DIED FOR FREEDOM / THEIR NEIGHBORS THROUGH THE / SEAWANHAKA DEMOCRATIC CLUB / ERECT THIS MONUMENT / AD MDCCCCXIX. /IN LOVING MEMORY / OF THOSE MEN OF THIS DISTRICT / WHO IN THE WAR OF 1917 AND 1918 / FOUGHT AND DIED FOR FREEDOM / THEIR NEIGHBORS THROUGH THE / SEAWANHAKA DEMOCRATIC CLUB / ERECT THIS MONUMENT / AD MDCCCCXIX. /
Now let us scroll up to the top of the front of the Memorial, which lists the names of 42 New York men who fought and died in the First World War.
LT. HENRY J. DUFF --- CORP. OSCAR GARDENAS / ENS. EDW. FITZGERALD --- COPR. JOHN J. FARRELL / ENS. SIDNEY J. KELLY --- CORP. RALPH DE FLORA / SGT. VINCENT AITKEN --- CORP. OSCAR E. FLEURY / SGT. THOS. CAMPBELL --- CORP. TOHS. HARRINGTON / SGT. EDWARD MESSER --- CORP. JOHN. A KIERNAN / SGT. OTTO SCHINDLER --- CORP. GEO. MICHOLOSKI / SGT. WM. V. STORCH --- CORP. JAMES OCONNOR / FREDERICK I. ALLARD --- JOSEPH P. GRIFFIN / JOHN ARCOMANO --- ANTONIO GUARINO / CHARLES I. ASH --- JOS. A. GUGLULINO / ARTHUR CAMPBELL --- CLARENCE F. HARRIS / FRANCIS J. CARR --- SIDNEY W. HARRIS / PATRICK CORCORAN --- MICHAEL HALEY / PETER J. CRIMMINS --- EDWARD H. HERNON / HARRY M. GUNDY --- FRANK J. HOLAHAN / GEORGE P. DAVIS --- THOMAS KELLY / HARRY EUBANKS --- PATRICK JOS. KANE / THOS. M. GAFFNEY --- ALBERT J. KERN / THOMAS K. GILROY --- WILLIM E. LANNAN / BENJAMIN GREEN --- RICHARD MCGEEHAN /
Back
The back of the Memorial lists 23 additional soldiers who fought and died in World War I.
BERNARD MCGONIGLE --- STEPHEN REARDON / JAMES D. MCKEEVER --- FRANK RENO / JOHN MCLOUGHLIN --- HAROLD A. ROTH / THOS. J. MCLOUGHLIN --- FERD. SANTARPIA / ATTILIO MANFREDI --- WILLIAM B. SARLO / JACK L. MARTIN --- DENNIS P. SHEEHAN / ANTONIO MASSONI --- SIMON STEWART / JOSEPH A. MERNAH --- THOMAS I. STONEY / EDWARD MORRISSEY --- ALFRED J. SULLIVAN / JOHN J. O'ROURKE --- JOSEPH WALLACE / JULIO PEREIRA --- JOHN E. WHITE / CHAS. E. REARDON --- JOSPEH YANTORNO / WILLIAM F. DEVINE /
Conclusion
The McLaughlin Park World War I Memorial has not drawn the best hand. One can imagine why its location was chosen in 1919. It sits about a block away from the Cathedral Basilica of St. James, the cathedral church of the Diocese of Brooklyn, and it is just a couple of blocks from the foot of the Manhattan Bridge. While the Cathedral Basilica of St. James and the Manhattan Bridge remain landmarks, neither sits right on the side of Tillary Street, which, as I noted, is perhaps the busiest street in terms of vehicular traffic in Downtown Brooklyn. One looking for a pleasant walk would do wise to avoid Tillary, and little about the street prompts one to hunt for aesthetic things. The defining feature of the area other than the cars are the looming, generic office buildings. If one happens to notice the World War I Memorial, which is a bit out of the way on the sidewalk, he or she would be hard pressed to make out the names on it – although the inscription is easier to read for astute observers who look down.
The Monument’s unfortunate location cannot be helped – although it would be nice to see it moved a bit inward onto Jay Street. But more important than where it is its purpose, the impulse of the Seawanhaka Democratic Club back in 1919 to honor 65 men who gave their lives in service of their country in World War I. For those who happen to be in the area, it need not be Memorial Day Eve or Memorial Day proper to take a moment to observe the Monument and make note of the 65 names listed.