World War Memorial

The story behind the granite monument topped with an eternal flame that stands on West Main Street on the lawn of the Suffolk County Historical Society Museum, opposite the Riverhead library.

A ceremony commemorating Veterans Day took place Friday morning at the War Memorial on West Main Street, hosted by the Riverhead Combined Veterans Committee. Photos

The World War Memorial in Riverhead has been decorated with 450 ceramic poppies in a Memorial Day tribute by Riverhead High School ceramics and creative crafts students. The striking display made its debut in 2021 with 200 ceramic poppies hand made by students of Selena Pagliarulo and Debbie Cantalupo.

The art installation, by ceramics and creative crafts students at Riverhead High Schoowill commemorate Memorial Day at the site of the monument on West Main Street, erected to honor the 304 Riverhead men who served in the U.S. military in World War I, including nine who did not return home.

“If the sacrifices made in the Revolutionary War, the Spanish War, the Civil War and the war just ended mean anything, they mean a heritage to all in the future, a responsibility on you and on me to see that what they did and what they fought for bears fruit." A very special guest was in Riverhead for the unveiling of the World War Memorial in 1920: Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of the late President.

With ceremonies at the World War Memorial on West Main Street at 11 a.m. and at Calverton National Cemetery at 1 p.m., Riverhead remembers its veterans.