Marine

This Memorial serves as a market for America’s Merchant Mariners resting in the unmarked ocean depths. The American Merchant Mariners Memorial statue, built by Marisol Escobar and dedicated in 1991, is tucked away in Battery Park south of Pier A. The statue portrays a striking image: four men on a sinking ship, calling for help clinging to life. This image is based on a true event, developed from a photograph, and has come to represent thousands of lives lost. How can one piece of art represent a chapter of history? On March 22, 1943, an American ship called the SS Muskogee was hit by a torpedo and sunk by a Nazi U-Boat on its way from Venezuela to Halifax. The ship was transporting petroleum and carrying a crew of 34 men, led by Captain William Betts. 10 mariners held tight…