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Kaplan Square
If you take County Street south to Fair St. and turn right, you will drive straight to this monument in the middle of the Portuguese community which was then populated by many Jewish families who have since moved out to Dartmouth.
Kaplan Square, at the intersection of Fair and Bolton Streets in the South End of New Bedford, was named for PFC Irving Kaplan, born in 1915 in New Bedford. Kaplan was killed August 25, 1945 , while serving in the Army Signal Corps in Germany during World War II. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Kaplan. Before enlisting, the young Irving Kaplan practiced law in New Bedford, with offices in the National Bank Building. He had attended Boston University and Harvard University Law Schools. Members of the Jewish War Veterans New Bedford Post 154 are responsible for having the monument erected. It was dedicated on June 19, 1949 accompanied by a parade and memorial service.
In 1997 the 6th grade class of Mrs. Susan Baroody of the Congdon School took it on as a local beautification project to refurbish and replant the Kaplan memorial.It was rededicated on June 18, 1997 by the Jewish War Veterans in conjunction with the city of New Bedford.