 The World War I Memorial was designed by Pietro Montana , an Italian @-@ born painter and sculptor . Montana studied at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in Manhattan , New York City , New York . Montana 's monuments were well @-@ known , particularly in New York , and included an earlier " <unk> " sculpture erected in 1920 to honor the war dead of the <unk> , Brooklyn and <unk> , Queens . The success of this the earlier " Fighting <unk> " memorial resulted in the production of three copies by 1921 . By 1932 , he had produced over 40 statues and won a gold medal from the National Academy of Design for " <unk> " in 1931 . 
