Fitzsimons-Battenfeld Momument
Owner: Kansas City Parks & Recreation
Artist: Unknown
Dates: Installed December 10, 1947
Medium: Granite
Description:
A granite monument dedicated to the memory of Walter T. Fitzsimons, the first United States Army officer to die in World War I, and Jesse R. Battenfeld, Jr., a flight surgeon who died during World War II. Both men were Kansas City natives.
Prior to the placement of the monument, this triangular-shaped park was home to a French 75 mm cannon. It had been dedicated on May 25, 1941 in memory of Lieutenant Thomas J. Kiely who died on September 12, 1918 in France while fighting in World War I. The cannon was removed on June 18, 1941 after it was found that children were using it as a teeter-totter.
