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AccessibilityLt. Frank McConnell Park
94 Ave., Atlantic Ave. bet. Leffers Blvd. and 120 St.
Queens
Directions via Google Maps
This park honors the memory of Lieutenant Frank McConnell (1896-1918), the first Richmond Hill resident killed in World War I.
A star member of the Princeton crew team (Class of 1919), McConnell lost his life on July 26, 1918, in northern France during the Second Battle of the Marne. This battle marked a turning point of the war. The Germans succeeded in crossing the Marne River, but made little subsequent progress. On July 18, 1918, the Allied commander, General Ferdinand Foch, counterattacked with forces that included McConnell’s division. One of the fiercest centers of combat was at Château-Thierry, where the American troops won their first decisive victory of the war. The German troops were forced back across the Marne in what was one of the first large-scale retreats by the German army. In addition to this park, a Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post is named in McConnell’s honor.
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