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

Parks Newsroom > Daily Plant

Media Advisories

Press Releases

Daily Plant Newsletter

Daily Plant RSS Feed (←What is this?)
Photographer's Journal
Volume XIX, Number 4254 Thursday, Dec 16, 2004
Email Newsletters

Video
ON ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE,
REMEMBERING ONE OF OUR PARKSʼ NAMESAKES
RSS Feeds
In the early morning hours of December 16,
Park of the Month 1944, three powerful German armies
plunged headlong into the hills and forest of
Guidelines for Filming &
the Ardennes Region of Belgium and
Photographing in Parks
Luxembourg, attacking thinly held American
Archived Material lines along an 85-mile front. Their goal was
to split and trap American and British forces
and eventually reach the Port of Antwerp.

Fighting in dense fog, snow, and bitter cold,

American forces stubbornly resisted all-out
German attacks, stalled their advance, and
completely upset their timetable. After
penetrating more than 40 miles into Allied
territory, forming a salient, or bulge, the
German advance was finally stopped on The Battle of the Bulge Monument, Wolfe’s Pond Park.
Christmas Eve, December 24, 1944. Bitter
fighting continued until January 25, 1945, when the bulge was finally erased and the original front
line restored. The Allies were then poised for the final assault into the German heartland and final
victory on V-E Day, May 8, 1945. After the victory, Prime Minster Winston Churchill said, "This is
undoubtedly the greatest battle of the War and will, I believe, be regarded as an ever famous
American Victory."

More than 600,000 American men and women participated in that epic battle, which began exactly
60 years ago today. An untold number of those soldiers hailed from New York City, and of the 50
New York City parks named in honor of those who served or died in World War II, Cutinella
Square 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, in
Brooklyn. After Armond married and fathered twin daughters, Armanda and Arlene, he volunteered
for the Army and became a member of the Infantry Company in the 26th Division. Also known as
the "Yankee Division," the 26th was inducted on January 16, 1942 and entered combat on October
12, 1944, spending 199 days in combat. By late December, the Allies stopped and reversed the
German advance near the Meuse River, where the borders of Luxembourg, Belgium, and France
meet. By mid-January, Cutinella’s company reached the capital city of Luxembourg and took part
in its liberation.

http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_newsroom/daily_plants/daily_plant_main.php?id=19327 Page 1 of 2
ON ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE, REMEMBERING ONE OF OUR PARKS’ NAMESAKES - Daily Plant Newsletter 7/9/08 4:12 PM

in its liberation.

During the assault, Cutinella’s company was reduced to only 12 men. This group was left to hold
the 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 massive
losses Germany suffered at the Battle of the Bulge, which proved to be their last major offensive
of 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. His
body is buried in the United States Military cemetery at Hamm in western Germany, the same
cemetery in which General George S. Patton is buried. After the war, Cutinella’s friends and family
formed the Armond Cutinella Memorial Association, which organized an appeal to the City in 1950
to name this square, at the intersection of Avenue West 86th Street, and West 6th Street, in
honor of their beloved local war hero.

Written by John Mattera

Parks & 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 live
with his fears, and learn to live, every day, both within his limits and beyond them."

James Baldwin
(1924–1987)

E-mail this:

Additional Resources for CUTINELLA TRIANGLE:

Capital Projects
Daily Plant
History
Inspections
Map

<< Back to Daily Plants Main.

Dial 311 for all Parks & Recreation information, outside of NYC call 212-NEW-YORK
Copyright © New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Privacy Policy

http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_newsroom/daily_plants/daily_plant_main.php?id=19327 Page 2 of 2