The Graybeards Help Honor Memorial Circle Veterans

By Katie McFadden

The main mission of Memorial Day is to remember and honor those military members who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to this country. Rockaway has had several neighbors who made that sacrifice and are remembered in areas like the Doughboy Monument on Beach 94th Street and Memorial Circle on Beach 121st Street and Rockaway Beach Blvd. Established in 1947 by the Belle Harbor Garden Club to remember local WWII veterans, Memorial Circle contains 35 plaques for fallen servicemembers, including more recent additions of John P. McGonigal, killed in Vietnam, and Michael Glover, killed in Iraq. Most often, hundreds of people may pass Memorial Circle each day, a few may take time to read the names on the plaques, and then go along with their day. But those neighbors who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms were more than just names. They were young people living full lives that were cut short. The Graybeards, a group of men who act in service to the community, wanted to do more to acknowledge them.

One of those Graybeards is Jim McKeon. “I used to live by Memorial Circle as a kid and I’d read the plaques but didn’t really stop and reflect. I’m a Marine Corps veteran and I realized, all we know of these service members is their name, branch of service and when they died. I was walking by recently and thought, maybe we can make a website with more information,” McKeon said.

He reached out to Chris Scharbach, principal of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy, to ask if students could get involved in a research project to find out more, but soon learned that local resident Robby Schwach, a former District 32 city council liaison, had already done the footwork 10 years before, completing his project in 2019, but it never found a permanent home that people could access at any time.

McKeon provided the information to fellow Graybeard, Mike Casserly, who had it up on the Graybeards website, www.TheGraybeards.com, by the next day. A tab on the website has a brief description of most of the veterans including name, branch of service, what block they lived on, schools they went to, family members and more. It also includes poems read during the Memorial Day ceremony, historical articles about Memorial Circle’s beginnings and the Friends of Memorial Circle, who continue to oversee the park in conjunction with NYC Parks, some photos of plaques and a map designating where each plaque is in the park, plus information on how to donate towards the upkeep. It also pays tribute to the late Mike Honan, a U.S. Navy veteran and a Friend of Memorial Circle, who regularly cared for the park with other members.

In addition to the website, The Graybeards have become more involved with the upkeep of the park to fill in the shoes left by Honan. “We got this idea to reenergize Memorial Circle after Mike passed away, to continue his work alongside Friends of Memorial Circle,” McKeon explained. McKeon and fellow Graybeard and veteran Travis Barretto have made an effort to visit Memorial Circle a few days a week to tidy up. The Graybeards have also put a new main flag up after it was missing for a while, put back three flags on the ocean side, and put up small individual flags by each plaque in time for the ceremony on Memorial Day. The Graybeards hope to work with local students to also help with the upkeep of the park.

McKeon said the efforts are going noticed. “I was taking a bike ride and saw a woman walking with a baby, reading the names on the plaques. I told her about the website, and she said she wanted to look up some of these members,” McKeon said. “We just want people to appreciate the sacrifice that these members made. A lot of people pass this park and while it isn’t hallowed ground with members buried there, it’s a special place and people should know that. Hopefully his brings more visibility to it so we can honor those members.”

To check out the website, head to: https://thegraybeards.com/memorial-circle