To Honor Fallen Heroes: How a Small German-American Village in New York City Experienced the Great War

To Honor Fallen Heroes is an historical and biographical study of the men from College Point, Queens, New York who rendered valuable service to their country in World War One. More than six hundred fifty served in the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Merchant Marine. Twenty-eight died. What gives the book its relatively unique character is that the hamlet was basically German in origin, primarily industrial, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a destination place for large numbers of entertainment-seeking New Yorkers. The book includes an overview of these elements, illustrating how each played its role before, during and, to a limited extent, after the war. These subjects are woven into a detailed analysis of how College Point, and its people weathered movements and events; labor strife, anti-German sentiment, espionage, the influenza epidemic, and a host of other forces that impacted American culture in general, and their lives in particular. Also told in chronological order, and brief vignettes are the stories of the twenty-eight men who went willingly to war, and died.