7/9/08 4:12 PMON ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE, REMEMBERING ONE OF OUR PARKS’ NAMESAKES - Daily Plant Newsletter

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Volume XIX, Number 4254 Thursday, Dec 16, 2004

The Battle of the Bulge Monument, Wolfe’s Pond Park.

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ON ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE,REMEMBERING ONE OF OUR PARKSʼ NAMESAKESIn the early morning hours of December 16,1944, three powerful German armiesplunged headlong into the hills and forest ofthe Ardennes Region of Belgium andLuxembourg, attacking thinly held Americanlines along an 85-mile front. Their goal wasto split and trap American and British forcesand eventually reach the Port of Antwerp.

Fighting in dense fog, snow, and bitter cold,American forces stubbornly resisted all-outGerman attacks, stalled their advance, andcompletely upset their timetable. Afterpenetrating more than 40 miles into Alliedterritory, forming a salient, or bulge, theGerman advance was finally stopped onChristmas Eve, December 24, 1944. Bitterfighting continued until January 25, 1945, when the bulge was finally erased and the original frontline restored. The Allies were then poised for the final assault into the German heartland and finalvictory on V-E Day, May 8, 1945. After the victory, Prime Minster Winston Churchill said, "This isundoubtedly the greatest battle of the War and will, I believe, be regarded as an ever famousAmerican Victory."

More than 600,000 American men and women participated in that epic battle, which began exactly60 years ago today. An untold number of those soldiers hailed from New York City, and of the 50New York City parks named in honor of those who served or died in World War II, CutinellaSquare in Brooklyn specifically honors a man who gave his life fighting the Battle of the Bulge:Armond Cutinella.

Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Cutinella raised Armond and his 12 siblings at 2215 West Seventh Street, inBrooklyn. After Armond married and fathered twin daughters, Armanda and Arlene, he volunteeredfor the Army and became a member of the Infantry Company in the 26th Division. Also known asthe "Yankee Division," the 26th was inducted on January 16, 1942 and entered combat on October12, 1944, spending 199 days in combat. By late December, the Allies stopped and reversed theGerman advance near the Meuse River, where the borders of Luxembourg, Belgium, and Francemeet. By mid-January, Cutinella’s company reached the capital city of Luxembourg and took partin its liberation.

7/9/08 4:12 PMON ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE, REMEMBERING ONE OF OUR PARKS’ NAMESAKES - Daily Plant Newsletter

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in its liberation.

During the assault, Cutinella’s company was reduced to only 12 men. This group was left to holdthe position and wait for reinforcements. When help finally arrived, they found that all 12 men,including Cutinella, had gallantly given their lives in attempts to hold the position. On January 16,1945, five days after Cutinella’s death, the Allies forced the Germans to withdraw. The massivelosses Germany suffered at the Battle of the Bulge, which proved to be their last major offensiveof the war, contributed to their final collapse in the spring of 1945.

Cutinella was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for gallantry as well as the Purple Heart. Hisbody is buried in the United States Military cemetery at Hamm in western Germany, the samecemetery in which General George S. Patton is buried. After the war, Cutinella’s friends and familyformed the Armond Cutinella Memorial Association, which organized an appeal to the City in 1950to name this square, at the intersection of Avenue West 86th Street, and West 6th Street, inhonor of their beloved local war hero.

Written by John MatteraParks & Recreation Librarian

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"…no one can demand more of life than that life do him the honor to demand that he learn to livewith his fears, and learn to live, every day, both within his limits and beyond them."

James Baldwin(1924–1987)

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