Kennedy Playground

32 Ave., 33 Ave. bet. Corporal Kennedy St. and 210 St.

Queens

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

Both this playground and the nearby street are named in honor of Corporal William F. Kennedy (1893-1918), an army mechanic killed in action during World War I (1914-1918). Kennedy was born and raised in Bayside, where his father was a police officer. After the war broke out, he joined the army, and began training at Fort Upton, the present site of the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island. He was then stationed in France, where he served as a mechanic with the 107th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division. On September 30, 1918, Corporal Kennedy was killed while out on maneuvers. He is buried in the Somme American Cemetery in Bony, France.