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Norwegian Veterans Monument

History

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found postedwithin the park.

This monument honors the valiant sailors of the Norwegian merchant marines and navy who lost their lives in the cause of the Allies during World War II. Many of the thousands of seamen who served and paid the supreme sacrifice considered New York to be their principal port of call, and during the War used it as a home port.

The monument was conceived by officers of the Royal Norwegian Navy and Merchant Marine. It was dedicated in a ceremony held on October 21, 1982, and attended by King Olav V of Norway and Mayor Edward I. Koch. It consists of a large natural granite slab on which rests a boulder with an image of an anchor inscribed on it. Additional inscriptions are etched on the base as well as on a pink granite marker installed in 1995. In the spring of 2001, as part of the overall improvements to the park’s Upper Promenade designed by Saratoga Associates and implemented by the City and the Conservancy for Historic Battery Park, the monument was relocated to a newly landscaped setting northwest of Castle Clinton.

This monument is inaccessible due to construction.

Click map for directions

  • Small boulder with incised anchor motif, atop large inscribed boulder, inscribed marker
  • Small boulder with incised anchor motif, atop large inscribed boulder, inscribed marker
  • Small boulder with incised anchor motif, atop large inscribed boulder, inscribed marker

Norwegian Veterans Monument Details

  • Location: Northwest of Castle Clinton
  • Description: Small boulder with incised anchor motif, atop large inscribed boulder, inscribed marker
  • Materials: Norwegian coastal boulders; marker--pink granite
  • Dimensions: Total H: 6' W: 12'; Marker front H: 4" Rear H: 1'2" W: 1'8" D: 1'4"
  • Cast: ca. 1982
  • Dedicated: October 21, 1982
  • Fabricator: A. Ottavino Corp.
  • Donor: Norwegian war veterans
  • Inscription: Large boulder, south side:
    DEDICATED IN THE YEAR 1982 / TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / BY WAR VETERANS OF / THE NORWEGIAN MERCHANT MARINE / AND THE ROYAL NORWEGIAN NAVY / IN MEMORY OF HELP AND HOSPITALITY / SHOWN DURING OUR MUTUAL STRUGGLE / FOR FREEDOM AND PEACE / IN WORLD WAR II /

    Large boulder, north side:
    THESE BOULDERS WERE BROUGHT HERE / FROM THE COAST OF NORWAY / -- WHERE FORCES OF NATURE HAVE WORN / AND SHAPED THEM FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS /

    Granite marker:
    IN WORLD WAR II 1100 / NORWEGIAN SHIPS SERVED THE / ALLIED CAUSE BY HAULING SUPPLIES / BETWEEN U.S. PORTS AND THE WAR / THEATERS ABROAD. / A SIZEABLE PART OF THE ALLIED / FORCES WERE SUPPLIED BY SHIPS / FLYING THE NORWEGIAN FLAG. / MORE THAN 30,000 SAILORS / AND NAVAL GUNNERS MANNED THE SHIPS. / MANY OF THEM LOOKED TO / NEW YORK, THE PRINCIPAL PORT OF / CALL, AS THEIR HOME PORT DURING / THE WAR. / THE LOSSES WERE HEAVY / 570 SHIPS AND 4000 SAILORS. /

Please note, the NAME field includes a primary designation as well as alternate namingsoften in common or popular usage. The DEDICATED field refers to the most recent dedication, most often, butnot necessarily the original dedication date. If the monument did not have a formal dedication, the yearlisted reflects the date of installation.

For more information, please contact Art & Antiquities at (212) 360-8163

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The Battery
Portions of The Battery, including the Battery Wharf, Gardens of Remembrance, and portions of the Oval Lawn are closed for the Battery Coastal Resilience Project. This project will rebuild and elevate the Battery wharf to reduce risk from rising seas and coastal storms, while preserving the character of the park. Visit the Battery Coastal Resilience page for more information and an updated timeline.

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