70 years later: Remembering the Norwegian War Sailors

Victoria Hofmo Brooklyn, N.Y. This year marks the 70th Anniversary of the end of WWII, and Friday, May 8, marked the 70th Anniversary of Norway’s liberation from the Nazis. To honor it, the Norwegian War Sailors Club in Brooklyn (the krigsseilerne) held their annual tradition of commemorating the day with a ceremony at their monument at Battery Park known by the Norwegian sailors as “the stone.” In contrast to this simple “stone” is the powerful and dynamic American Merchant Marine Monument, placed in the water nearby. It depicts a man gone overboard and a frantic attempt to save him. The Norwegian monument seems underwhelming in comparison. A professor I had at City College called the Norwegian monum