Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas commemorated in New York

On 19 July, a solemn commemoration of a historical transatlantic flight of Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas was held in Floyd Bennet Field, New York City’s former airport. A memorial plaque dedicated to this deed of Lithuanian pilots was unveiled in the Floyd Bennet Field airport’s Ryan visitor centre.

75 years ago, aircraft Lituanica took off from this airport. Currently the Floyd Bennet Field airport is the property of the Gateway National Recreation Area.

At the ceremony, Consul General of the Republic of Lithuania in New York Jonas Paslauskas gave a speech about the fate of S.Darius and S.Girėnas, about Lithuanians in America, who both morally and financially supported the idea of courageous Lithuanian pilots to promote the name of Lithuania by the record flight from New York to Kaunas. 75 later years their wish is coming true – now New Yorkers will also learn more about Lithuania and its heroes.

General Superintendent of the Gateway National Recreation Area Barry Sullivan told about the past of the Floyd Bennet Field airport. Today it is a recreation area, of which New Yorkers are fond of. He opened a new exhibition, which tells the history of the most important flights from the Floyd Bennet Field airport. A separate stand is devoted to the flight of Lituanica by S.Darius and S.Girėnas.

During the commemoration, speeches were also given by Bishop Paulius Baltakis, chairman of the Lithuanian-American community in the New York District Ramutė Žukaitė, President of the Knights of Lithuania Council 110 in Maspeth Paul-Michael Kazas, President of Lithuanian National Foundation Giedrė Kumpikaitė.

The commemoration was organised by the Consulate General in New York and the administration of the Gateway National Recreation Area, in cooperation with the Knights of Lithuania Council 110 in Maspeth and the Lithuanian-American community in the New York District.