World War I Memorial in Secaucus, New Jersey

Standing in front of the Town Hall of Secaucus, New Jersey, is the sculpture known as "The Spirit of the American Doughboy." This statue commemorates the American soldiers who fought and died in World War I, more specifically one soldier from Secaucus who died on the front lines. His name is Joseph Hassenforder and while it is not stated on the plaque he was killed in action on July 15th, 1918. This was only a few months before the war came to a close and so the people of Secaucus remember his sacrifice through this memorial. This specific sculpture, however, does not portray Cpl. Hassenforder as it was one of many mass produced sculptures constructed during the 1920s. I find it interesting that although we may not be able to see an accurate portrayal of this soldier, it is still very moving through the features presented. The trees are cut down to stumps evoking the idea that they were blown away in the fighting while the ground the soldier runs through has a very muddy texture showing the inhospitable landscape many of these soldiers fought on. Another interesting feature is a secondary plaque near the bottom of the memorial which commemorates Cpl. Raymond Frank Schopmann who fought and died in the Vietnam War on March 26th 1968. These two men from Secaucus are remembered for their service and untimely deaths in two extremely devastating wars. The inclusion of this plaque is certainly something I did not expect to find, but was glad to see as although these men died 50 years apart from one another, it was both in the service of the US Army. This reminded me of my ancestor, Mario Malchiodi, who was an Italian immigrant from Naples that arrived in New York City some time during the early 1910s. When the US sent soldiers to fight in Europe in 1917, Mario joined the US cavalry. He never spoke much of his time in the war to his family, but after he passed away at the young age of 35 he was considered a war hero by his comrades. He had been gassed in France, but survived though unfortunately his lungs were so badly damaged that he died from his wounds years later. In 1968 my grandfather, Robert Luetjen, was preparing to leave to fight in Vietnam as a part of the US Marines, but was stopped by the Red Cross when he found out his wife and new-born daughter were in the hospital and were going to die. Luckily they survived and my grandfather was honorably discharged after his term in the Marines was over. These memorials remind me of my own ancestors who both signed up to fight in these two horrific wars. It is interesting to see Public History at work which helps us gain a better understanding of our own communities involvement and sacrifice while even being able to remind some of us of our own families.