WWI, The Navy & New York

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AMERICA’S WWI STORY IS A NEW YORK STORY 

 Involvement:
20% of all doughboys come from New York State. 

Recruitment:
The Navy commissions and New York builds a full-size wooden battleship in Union Square. 

Transport:
Four of every five Doughboys ship to France from New York Harbor. 

City Scope:
Manhattan: a huge recruiting center. Bronx: Pelham Bay Park, a naval training station. Brooklyn: the Navy Yard. Staten Island: a military hospital. Queens: where the first U.S. combat troops depart. 

Post War:
New York is the scene of joyous returns in 1919 and in 1921, plays a solemn role in the return of thousands of U.S. war dead, including the first Unknown Soldier. 

Remembrance:
200 WWI memorials are erected in the five boroughs, more than for any other U.S. conflict.