Rockaway Doughboy Statue
Rockaway Park
This monument honors 17 servicemen from the local community who paid the supreme sacrifice while serving their country during World War I. The statue depicts a bronze infantryman, commonly known as a “doughboy,” and was created by Italian-American sculptor Joseph Pollia (1893–1954). The granite pedestal of Deer Isle granite was designed by William Van Alen (1882–1954), best known as the architect of Manhattan’s famed Chrysler Building.
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 Rockaway Doughboy is one of nine such statues erected in New York City’s parks.
The monument was commissioned through a local public subscription. Sculptor Pollia was responsible for nearly two dozen public monuments. In New York City he also collaborated with Van Alen on the Richmond Hill War Memorial (1925) in Forest Park, Queens, and sculpted the statue of General Sheridan (1936) in Christopher Park in Manhattan. After World War II (1941–1945), a second honor roll honoring 84 citizens of Rockaway who died during combat, was added to this monument.
Wednesday, Sep 26, 2001
