Community Corner

Hastings Spanish-American War Memorial Steeped in National History

Members of the National Guard's 71st regiment gather in Hastings to dedicate a nationally recognized historic place.

In Hastings' Mount Hope Cemetery, there is a granite monument constructed in 1904 to honor the men from the 71st National Guard Regiment who lost their lives as a result of fighting in the Spanish-American war.

There are 109 such men. But, according to Louis Milgram—chairman of the regiment's veterans association—more soldiers lost their lives once back on American soil from diseases like Typhoid, Malaria and Dysentery than on the battlefield in Cuba. 

The monument, constructed to resemble the stone block houses defending Cuba's San Juan Hill, has recently been named both a New York State and national historic monument.

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"This monument is part of us," Milgram said, standing in front of the structure on Thursday before the service began. "Members of the 71st regiment have volunteered to go into every national emergency—they went willingly to fight in the Civil War."

A few years ago, when Milgram and other members of the regiment's veterans association noticed the monument's roof and walls needed repairs, he appealed to Hastings resident MaryJane Shimsky—now a county legislator—who was at the time community relations director for Assemblyman Richard Brodsky. 

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"When she wasn't able to secure a grant, she connected us with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation," Milgram said.

On Thursday, Shimsky—along with State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assemblyman Tom Abinanti and two New York State National Guard generals—accompanied members of the 71st regiment to celebrate the monument's historic status and to honor the 16 soldiers from the 71st regiment who have died in the past year.

Clarence Anspake, the 71st Regiment's  official historian, reminded everyone present of how so many ordinary citizens had given up their lives so selflessly to serve their country during that "Splendid Little War." 

"There were doctors, engineers, surgeons, veterinarians, business managers and farmers," he said. "The war was only 30 months, but there are so many stories."

The memorial in Hastings will stand as a tribute to those men and their personal histories. 


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