QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, November 16, 2023 Page 10 For the latest news EDITION visit qchron.com 45TH ANNIVERSARY • 2023
45th Anniversary Edition
Service goes with the name
Historic Lost Battalion Hall community center gets fix-up by Michael Gannon
of ceremony befitting the site’s place in Queens and American history, from its architecture to its distinguished visitors over the years. The Lost Battalion Hall RecreStarting, he said, with a pair of ation Center in Rego Park dates back to 1939, when the Great military-themed murals in the gym. “I had an extensive tour in 2020,” Depression-era Works Progress A d m i n i s t r a t i o n a u t h o r i z e d Perlman said. “I was able to see those murals up close and personal. $100,000 to construct a two-story And they’re incredible.” structure on city property on Called the Sailor, Soldier and Queens Boulevard to serve as a home for the Queens Veterans of Marine Works Project AdministraForeign Wars and American tion Murals, they were painted by artist Oscar Julius. Much like the Legion. WPA hired out-of-work people to Converted to a multifaceted work on government-financed projcommunity center after it was ects to give them income, it also transferred to the Department of Parks and Recreation in 1960, it is regularly commissioned painters, sculptors and other artists for pubin the final stages of a $22 million renovation project that began in licly displayed works to keep them employed. July 2022. “It was rare for Rego Park, Forest The Parks and Recreation website, as of Tuesday, said construc- Hills and nearby communities to tion is scheduled to be completed in have WPA commissions on display,” Perlman said. The murals January 2024. But an emailed statement from the department Monday underwent some restoration work in 1995, which the Parks website says night left completion open-ended. “The overall reconstruction of was done as part of a $350,000 allocation from then-Borough President the Lost Battalion Hall requires additional attention before the proj- Claire Schulman. Perlman said the Forest Hills ect can be completed,” the statement said. “We will keep the com- Post Office, also on Queens Boulemunity board, and Queens resi- vard, also was a WPA project. Perlman was disappointed to dents updated as we move forward see them marred by graffiti durwith repairs and evaluation of the ing his tour, and hopes they will facility.” The name of the building comes be restored before the building reopens. from the old 77th Infantry Division, He said the Art Moderne strucknown sometimes as the “Metroture — “The brick facade is unique, politan Division.” “It was made up mostly of New too” — used to have a firing range York City residents,” Rego Park his- and drill hall for both the veterans organizations and its later function torian Michael Perlman told the Chronicle. He said he’s looking for- as a civil defense post. It also had a boxing ring. ward to the reopening, and hoped The basketball court in the gym Parks and Rec will have some sort Associate Editor
One of two murals by artist Oscar Julius that adorn the gym, honoring AmeriPHOTO BY MICHAEL PERLMAN can soldiers in World War I at Lost Battalion Hall.
Whether it’s fighting for others’ freedom or helping Rego Park’s seniors and children, the “Lost Battalion” and its NYC PARKS PHOTO namesake community center have always brought service to mind. In 2003, Mayor Mike Bloomberg was used over the years by the likes of Hall of Famers Bobby attended an event and unveiled a McDermott, a Queens native who plaque commemorating the 85th starred in professional leagues anniversary of the founding of the from the mid-1930s to 1950; and unit that through a series of unforWillis Reed, captain of champion- tunate miscommunications would ship New York Knicks teams in become known as the Lost Battal1970 and 1973, who once lived in ion. The naming was a tribute to the the nearby Park City Estates heroism and sacrifice that took place over less than a week in the apartment complex. “They even used to host square infamous Ardennes Forest. According to the official website dance festivals in the 1940s,” Perlof the U.S. Army, the man said. descendants of the 77th A photo from Perlman’s collection shows STILL THEY Infantry Division — now the 77th Sustainfighter Emile Griffith, a SERVE ment Brigade — still champion in three differwear the Statue of Liberent weight classes in his ty uniform patch that its career, visiting the evemembers wore when it ning of a boxing card. became the first Army Perlman and the Parks said programs offered at the Reserve division to deploy to center include afterschool activi- France in World War I. On Oct. 2, 1918, 687 men under ties, exercise and workout facilities, the command of Maj. Charles Whitcomputer instruction and a full rostlesey entered the Charlevaux ter of senior programs. The senior Ravine to help secure a major road. center was added to the basement They had no way of knowing in 2001. There is even a playground that that an American unit on their was first built by AT&T in 1976 as right flank and French soldiers to part of an agreement to place an their left had not advanced as underground telephone exchange quickly as planned until enemy on the site. The telecom giant’s infantry units came in behind them that night, trapping them behind own modern-design building is German lines. next door. Despite increasingly heavy lossMayors, of course, also have frees, the encircled 77th repelled every quented the building either attendattack over five days, first running ing events or hosting them.
out of medical supplies, then food and water, as headquarters repeatedly tried to rescue or relieve them. They even had to use the last of their carrier pigeons — the only communication method left available to them — to implore Allied artillery to stop shelling their position with friendly fire. A story from 2008 on the Army’s official website, written by Sgt. Maj. Cameron Porter, said American reporters chronicling the 77th’s increasingly hopeless stand coined the term “Lost Battalion.” “[The] name was a gross examination of the facts,” Porter wrote. “Whittlesey and his men were not lost in the sense that no one knew where they were. In fact, everyone knew where they were, especially the Germans.” Only 194 would walk out of the ravine following a forced German pullback on Oct. 7-8. The only fighting that has taken place at the center since 1939 has been limited to things like youth boxing programs and professional wrestling cards. Perlman said the history, the architecture and even the murals should bring it up for a decision by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. “I’d like to see that in conjunction with this being Rego Park’s 100th anniversary,” Perlman said. Q
