Monument American Merchant Seamen standing right in the water off the coast of Battery Park: a pedestal in the form of a sinking lifeboat full of despair figure.

Memorial conceived in the seventies of the last century, the American Merchant Marine veterans who wanted to perpetuate the memory of fallen comrades. During World War II, killing about 700 American merchant ships transporting goods needed allies (including the Soviet Union). Because of these dangerous flight did not return home 6600 sailors.

Competition for the right to carve a monument won Marisol Escobar, Venezuelan, received his artistic education in Paris and New York. The sculpture, however, she was more talented self-taught. The idea of ​​the monument told her an old photograph taken in unusual circumstances and will serve as the starting point of an incredible story.

In March 1942, German submarines, Admiral Doenitz held sway in the ocean between Florida and New York. March 22 Nazi submarine U-123 found the tanker "Muskogee" and struck him with a torpedo. Of the 34 crew members, only ten people were able to leave the sinking ship in the life rafts. The Germans left the Americans a little water, provisions and cigarettes and continued their raid. Were aboard the submarine press photographer took two pictures of seven people on one of the rafts.

All escaped after the attack the Americans later died at sea. On the roads of U-123 wrote the Nazi press, one of Berlin's newspaper published a picture of sailors on a raft. At this time in German prisoner of war was an American merchant seamen George Duffy, and the number of paper hit him in the arm. He tore the page with a photo and managed to keep it for more than a thousand days of captivity, including even a Japanese POW camp. After the war he had long tried to find out, the sailors of the ship depicted in the picture. This was done only in the eighties, forty years after the death of a tanker: the FBI were able to read the name "Muskogee" on lifejacket one of the sailors.

The monument, which is based the story of the tanker "Muskogee" was opened in 1991. Marisol Escobar accurately reproduced the position of one of the sailors on the photo: he calls for help, putting his hands to his mouth. The second is on his knees, he has no hope of rescue. The third extends to the water - where the fourth drowning sailor. The tide that exposes its shape, almost completely hides it, and then the water is visible only to hand in a last-ditch effort.