Rockaway Beach, NY Doughboy and Doughgirl Memorials

05/31/2023

06/05/2020

https://www.rockawave.com/articles/a-history-to-their-names/

A project to document the lives of those names listed on The Rockaway Doughboy Memorial on Beach 94th Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard turned to Facebook when the Coronavirus halted its planned

05/23/2020

John P. Zimmer, the last (alphabetically) of the 146 names on/around the Doughboy Memorial, was a Private First Class, in the US Marine Corps in WWII. He was born 2/18/1924 and lived with his parents John and Irene, and sister Helen at 1721 Linden Street in Queens in the 1925 census. By 1940, Irene and her son had moved to 318 Beach 87th Street in Rockaway. He enlisted on 8/24/1942, and after basic training at Parris Island, was assigned to a base in California where he met and married Bernice Anderson. On 12/23/1943 he was sent overseas with A Company, 2nd Marine Division, 8th Marines. He was killed in action 6/15/1944 on the first day of the Battle of Saipan in the northern Mariana Islands. He was survived by his wife and parents and buried at the National Memorial for the Pacific in Honolulu.

05/23/2020

Edward Joseph Zewert Jr. was a Private in the US Army in Vietnam. He lived at 68-07 Beach Channel Drive in Arverne. He was born 5/23/1947 in Brooklyn and went to PS 42, JHS 198, and Far Rockaway High School. He went to Airborne (Paratrooper) School at Fort Benning, GA, and was sent to Vietnam 10/30/1967 and was assigned to a Recon Platoon, E Company, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment. He was killed in combat 4/26/1968 in Binh Thuy Province. He is buried at Long Island National Cemetery. He is listed on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. on Panel 52East/ Line 26.

05/23/2020

Frederick F. Woodward is listed on the Vietnam War plaque at the memorial and there is a Private in the US Army by that name who was born 3/29/1946 in Manhattan, and died 5/22/65, buried at Long Island National Cemetery. But there are no listings for anyone by that name or a similar name in census records, not did anyone by that name die in the Vietnam War. There are no listings in the Wave or any other local newspapers of anyone by this name serving in Vietnam. ???

05/23/2020

George A. Williams was a Sergeant in the US Army Air Force in WWII and lived at 129-09 Cronston Avenue in Belle Harbor before later moving to Elmhurst. Williams went to St. Francis DeSales Parochial School and graduated from Far Rockaway High School (’39) before enlisting. He was assigned to Mitchell Field on Long Island, then to bases in Panama, Trinidad and Dutch Guinea. He was assigned as a bombardier on a B-17 Flying Fortress when his plane crashed into the sea off the coast of Surinam on June 9, 1942. His father, Otto was a Navy Captain in WWI and his grandfather fought in the Civil War. In addition to his father, he left behind his mother, Elizabeth, and siblings Arthur, Theresa, and Ann.

05/23/2020

Bernard Wiener was a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army in WWII and lived with family at 506 Beach 141st Street and 425 Beach 121st Street. He was born on 9/8/1918 and graduated from P.S. 114 and Far Rockaway High School before earning a degree from the University of Chicago and a Master’s degree at Columbia University. He enlisted on 2/28/1942 and did his basic training at Fort Jackson, SC. He was later commissioned an officer at infantry school at Fort Benning, GA. On December 15, 1942 he was killed while leading is men in battle in Cassino, Italy. He left behind his parents, Clara (Edelstein) and (City Court Judge) William, and younger brother Franklin. He is buried at Montefiore Cemetery. The Jewish War Veterans Post #258 in Rockaway is named for him.

05/23/2020

Walter Joseph "Joe" Wetzel was a Private, First Class, in the US Army in Vietnam. He was born 9/16/1949. From Howard Beach, he went to Our Lady of Grace Parochial School, St. John's Prep and Far Rockaway High School (where he was on the basketball team) and was a summer resident of Rockaway on Beach 98th Street. He was the son of an FDNY Lieutenant stationed on Beach 116th Street. Wetzel joined the army in October of 1965 and went through paratrooper training at Fort Benning in Georgia and was sent overseas in April, 1966 with A Company, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was killed on 5/29/1966 in the battle of Landing Zone Alpha near Chu Pong Mountain in the Pleiku Province of Vietnam. He was buried at Cypress Hills National Cemetery and left behind parents Walter and Lillian, and siblings (he was the oldest of 7) Maureen, Kathleen, Patricia, Judith, Tracey, and Robert. He is listed on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. on Panel 7East/ Line 124.

05/23/2020

Alvin S. Weiss was a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army Air Force in WWII. He was born 1/19/1916 in Manhattan, then later lived at 122-20 Boardwalk (now Ocean Promenade) in Rockaway Park. He graduated from James Madison High School and then City College with a degree in advertising and worked for a clothing manufacturer, L. Greif Brothers. He enlisted in July of 1941. In 1943, he graduated froim Officers' Candidate School in Orangeburg, SC. Weiss wass assigned as the Navigator on a B-24 Liberator (The “Lambsy Divey, serial # 44-40170) Bomber as part of the 852nd Bombardment Squadron, flying on his 14th mission over Misburg, Germany when anti-aircraft fire damaged 2 engines and the plane went down near Hanover, Germany. Weiss was listed as Missing in Action but his remains were eventually repatriated and he is buried at Mt. Hebron Cemetery in Flushing. He left behind his parents, Sarah and Arthur.

05/23/2020

Willie James Washington was a Private in the US Marine Corps in Vietnam. He lived at 84-10 Rockaway Beach Boulevard . He was born 6/15/1950 in Beaufort, SC.and later moved to Rockaway with his family. He was serving in the Marines in Quang Nam Province when he was killed on 9/6/69. He is buried at Long Island National Cemetery and left behind father Pinkney, and siblings Gordon, Kenneth, Jerome,. Denis, Deborah, and Ronald. He is listed on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. on Panel 18West/Line 50.

05/23/2020

Wilbert Richard Wankel (the middle initial "A" on the plaque is incorrect) was a First Lieutenant in the US Army in WWII. In the 1930s, he lived with his family a 31 West 13th Road in Broad Channel before moving to 85-20 Woodhaven Boulevard. He went to St. Virgilius Parochial School and John Adams High School. and graduated from engineering school at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. He worked as a cosmetics packer at the J.J. Newberry Store in Brooklyn before enlisting a few weeks before Pearl Harbor was attacked. Wankel graduated from engineering school at Fort Belvoir in Virginia and was serving in Papau, New Guinea when he was killed on New Year's Day, 1945. He left behind parents Anton (Frank) and Julia, and siblings Clifford, Frank, and Marion, and is buried at St. John's Cemetery in Middle Village. He is listed on the war memorial in Broad Channel as well.