• Sculptor: Philip Martiny
  • Date: ca. 1920
  • Location: Chelsea Park, at 28th St. and Ninth Ave. 
Philip Martiny, Chelsea Park Memorial, ca. 1920. Photo copyright © 2019 Dianne L. Durante

September 26, 1918: beginning of the Meuse-Argonne offensive

The Meuse-Argonne offensive in northeastern France (between the Meuse River and the Argonne forest) began September 26, 1918, and continued until November 11, when the Armistice was signed. With some 600,000 American troops involved, it was the largest U.S. military action during the First World War, and the Americans took heavy casualties – 26,277 killed, 95,786 wounded.

During this offensive, on October 8, Corporal Alvin York (known in his native Tennessee as a hell-raiser, a pacifist, and an extraordinarily good marksman) was credited with almost single-handedly killing about 25 German soldiers, taking out 3 machine guns and capturing 132 German prisoners. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor and became the best-known American hero of World War I.

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  • Numerous other monuments to World War I are scattered throughout Manhattan: among them are the Abingdon Square Memorial, Father Francis P. Duffy, the Flanders Field Memorial, the 107th Infantry Monument, and the Inwood-Washington Heights War Memorial. See From Portraits to Puddles: New York City Memorials from the Civil War to the World Trade Center (Reflecting Absence), available in print, as a Kindle book, and as a video.
  • In Getting More Enjoyment from Sculpture You Love, I demonstrate a method for looking at sculptures in detail, in depth, and on your own. Learn to enjoy your favorite sculptures more, and find new favorites. Available on Amazon in print and Kindle formats. More here.
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