This modest Bronx memorial to a forgotten war was made with scrap metal from a sunken battleship

New York is a city that tries hard not to forget its fallen soldiers, especially those who died in global wars with many casualties. All over Gotham are Great War doughboys in bronze, solemn World War II-era plaques with the names of neighborhood enlistees, and celebratory statues and arches to honor the dead of the Revolution and Civil War. But you don’t see many monuments to the Spanish-American War of 1898. What was that one about? This 10-week conflict grew out of Cuba’s fight for independence from Spain. It ended with America declaring war on Spain, which quickly forced the Spanish to give up Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines and made the U.S. a player in international affairs. Most of the 2,446 U.S. casualties stemmed from tropical diseases, not combat. But that didn’t make a difference to the city leaders in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. They commissioned a Classical-style monument to the men of the borough who died during this brief but pivotal war. Like many…