GREEN-WOOD LAUNCHES PROJECT TO FORMALLY RECOGNIZE ITS WORLD WAR II VETERANS
Landmark Cemetery Seeking the Help of Families and Friends to Identify and Honor WWII Veterans Interred at Green-Wood
(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Brooklyn, NY) – To mark the 80th anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War II, Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery today launched its World War II Project, an effort to identify and honor Green-Wood’s permanent residents—military, medical, and civilian—who bravely served to protect our country in the European and Pacific Theaters and at home.
Volunteers and staff, under the direction of cemetery historian Jeff Richman, will pore through Green-Wood’s extensive archival records to identify men and women who served our country during World War II. Because burial records or gravestones don’t always indicate military service, the team will also utilize the public records of military pension applications, New York State records, and all other available resources.
Green-Wood is asking for the public’s help. Richman noted, “Identifying the veterans is an arduous process. Our dedicated team will spend countless hours on this important project. But you can become an important partner in this effort just by letting us know if you had a relative or friend who served in WWII and is interred at Green-Wood. It’s a simple way to preserve and honor their history.”
Anyone with information about relatives or friends who served in WWII and are interred at Green-Wood should email history@green-wood.com or call 718-210-3045 with as much information as possible, including:
- Name of serviceperson
- Date and place of birth
- Date and place of death
- Service details (for example: infantryman; Marine; pilot; nurse; civilian contractor, etc.)
- Lot number at Green-Wood
- Contact information for family
- A photograph of the serviceperson
Green-Wood President Richard J. Moylan said, “The lives of our Greatest Generation must be memorialized. Green-Wood is committed to doing all we can make sure their stories are told.”
Green-Wood will compile an online, searchable database of the veterans along with a short biography on each. Richman will also create public programming and tours to honor the veterans’ service. The first tour will take place on Memorial Day 2021.
Richman noted that the WWII Project follows the success of Green-Wood’s two other initiatives on war veterans. The WWI Project identified over 200 veterans buried at the cemetery. In the Civil War Project, volunteers helped identify more than 5,000 Civil War soldiers interred at the Cemetery. Green-Wood is the largest burial ground of Civil War veterans north of the Mason Dixon Line.
The United States entered WWII on December 8, 1941 in the aftermath of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Germany declared war on the U.S. three days later on December 11. Between 1941 and 1945, 326,000 Brooklynites, or 12% of Brooklyn's total population, served in the war. The number represented 58% of Brooklyn's males between the ages of 18 and 37.
###
About Green-Wood: Incorporated in 1838, Green-Wood Cemetery stretches across 478 pastoral acres in Brooklyn and boasts extraordinary works of 19th-century sculpture, statuary and architecture. Home to thousands of historic figures, Green-Wood Cemetery offers tours of its grounds, concerts, book readings and other public events throughout the year. Green-Wood has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior. The Green-Wood Historic Fund is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit membership organization created to maintain Green-Wood’s monuments and buildings of historical, cultural, and architectural significance; to advance public knowledge and appreciation; and to preserve the natural habitat of one of New York City’s first green spaces. For more information, please visit www.green-wood.com.
--------------------------------------------
