Memorial Day Wreath-Laying Brings Many Hundreds to Soldiers & Sailors Monument

Many hundreds of celebrants and patriots, civilians and military personnel alike, came to the Upper West Side on Monday morning, May 26, for the annual Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony at the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument. Located just inside Riverside Park at Riverside Drive and West 89th Street, the monument stands as one the grandest—and, for many years, one of the most neglected—remembrance sites in all Manhattan.

Weather for the event, which began around 10am, was wonderful, with bright skies and the temperature reaching around 70 degrees: a good omen for the good news about funding the monument’s restoration that would be a refrain for many of the event’s speakers.

Indeed, so bright was the rising sun on the raised plaza in front of the monument proper—which has been closed since 2017 because of stability issues—there was some concern for the exposed skin of those hatless civilians seated directly in its warming rays; hopefully all wore sunscreen.

As for the military, most of the men and women in uniform were wearing hats, including the members of the United States Marine Corps Band, who, seated in chairs in the northeast section of the plaza, provided superior, often stirring, musical accompaniment to the proceedings, from its processional start to its recessional finish. The excellence of the woodwinds in particular stood out, which isn’t to slight the brass and percussion but rather to praise the band’s ability to balance power and subtlety.

At around 10:30am, with all the dignitaries in place and the public seated in chairs arranged just south of the plaza, the processional began with a kilt-clad bagpiper from the New York Caledonian Club leading the way up the stairs. He was followed by four Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War members (one of whom was a woman) dressed in period uniforms and the Veteran Corps of Artillery.

The posting of the colors was performed by Hell’s Kitchen’s own Graphics Campus Navy Junior ROTC Color Guard, after which everyone rose for the national anthem. An invocation by the US Navy rabbi, Captain Melinda Zalma, followed.

Each of the day’s speakers was introduced by Peter Galasinao, a retired US Navy commander who is president of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Association. Among the politicians present were Council members Gale Brewer and Shawn Abreu; New York State Assembly members Micah Lasher and Linda Rosenthal; State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal; and Borough President Mark Levine.

Of these solons, the remarks of Brewer—who is the daughter, granddaughter, and wife of Jewish veterans—stood out. Indeed, they were so attuned to both history and a moment when many patriots are ashamed of the behavior of their commander-in-chief, this reporter suggested they be published in this paper. Happily, this was done (albeit without Brewer’s closing exhortation, “Let’s go, Knicks! Knicks in six!,” which unfortunately was already rendered moot by the Tuesday-night loss to Indiana).

Brewer herself would be the recipient of numerous cheers for her leadership in securing the $62 million needed to restore the Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument. It’s hoped this work will be complete by Memorial Day 2028.

Even with its tower interior closed and fenced off, the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument site itself remains worth visiting.

Especially notable are two matching stone monuments on either side of the plaza, one highlighted by the name Grant, the other with Sherman, but containing the names of other generals and battles. Civil War scholars will note the prominence of Sickles on the Grant side, while those who don’t know General Dan Sickles, should read historian John Strausbaugh’s superb book about Civil War New York, City of Sedition.

Though provided for by an act of the state legislature in 1893, design delays meant the monument’s groundbreaking didn’t happen until Sept. 20, 1900. On Decoration Day, Friday, May 30, 1902, the monument was unveiled.

Back in the day, a parade of more than 4,000 regular soldiers, National Guard, and veterans marched from Fifth Avenue and 46th Street in midtown along a winding route that took them finally to the large reviewing stand erected at Riverside Drive and West 89th Street.

Delivering the presentation address that year was Mayor Seth Low, while the unveiling itself was led by Civil War General Franz Sigel. A German revolutionary who immigrated to the US in 1852, Sigel died that August, aged 77, and he was subsequently honored by a statue at Riverside Drive and West 106th Street and a park in the South Bronx.

Appropriately, today’s keynote speaker was himself a son of the Bronx, Rear Admiral Alexis “Lex” Walker and so began his peroration, “Hello, fellow New Yorkers.” Walker, who is among the highest-ranking Black officers in the Navy, entered the service in 1989 via the Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training (BOOST) program and after graduating from Jacksonville University. He was commissioned via the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps in 1994. Two master’s degrees and many postings later, today he leads more than 7,000 sailors as the commander of Carrier Strike Group 10.

“Today we stand on sacred ground, at the foot of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, one of the New York City’s most solemn and historic memorials,” Walker began. “[It] honors the brave Union soldiers who fought to preserve the United States during our nation’s most defining conflict, the Civil War.

”But, over the years,” Walker continued, “this monument has come to symbolize much more. It stands for every New Yorker who has worn the uniform of our armed forces and made the ultimate sacrifice.”

Walker’s impressive address continued for a few minutes and was greeted with great cheers. Following this, the Marine Band played “America the Beautiful,” with an Irish tenor-like soloist leading the verses and the crowd joining in the chorus.

The wreath-laying ceremony itself began with a return of the piper and a flyover along the Hudson River by a Navy fighter jet, including a well-timed wing-waving roll.

Among the two dozen groups that took up their wreaths from the plaza to lay them on the fence were the Navy League; various American Legion posts, including the Kim Lau Post of Chinatown; Jewish War Veterans Post 1; the Grant Monument Association; Military Veterans of Columbia University; the New York Chapter of the National Association of Military Black Women; the West 90s Neighborhood Association; and the NYC Department of Veterans Services.