A gathered crowd snaps pictures with the restored "Spirit of An American Doughboy" statue outside Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center. The impromptu photo shoot followed a re-dedication ceremony celebrating the statue's restoration.

Oklahoma "Doughboy" statue restored, rededicated 

By Chesley Oxendine
via the Muskogee Phoenix newspaper web site

MUSKOGEE, Okla. - Local State Representative Chuck Hoskins said he sees his uncle when he walks past the "Spirit of the American Doughboy" statue at Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center.

"It not only stands for my uncles, but for all of your relatives who took part in that war," Hoskins said to a gathered crowd at the recent re-dedication ceremony for the statue. "We have to make sure our children and their children understand what this statue means."

The ceremony comes on the heels of a $25,000 restoration project to clean and restore the statue, one of 143 existing "Doughboy" statues nationwide, according to a release from the event, and one of two memorializing Native American wartime service. The statue is a "hollow" version made of copper infused bronze sheets pressed over a frame. Part of the funds for the statue's restoration came from the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission's 100 CITIES/100 MEMORIALS Program.

"Doughboy" is an informal term for a member of the U.S. Army or Marine Corps.

The statue was originally brought to memorialize the service of the Five Civilized Tribes during World War I. Part of the restoration process was adding a small monument extending that memorialization to all veterans who have served in all wars, Graham said.

Read the entire article on the Muskogee Phoenix web site.

External Web Site Notice: This page contains information directly presented from an external source. The terms and conditions of this page may not be the same as those of this website. Click here to read the full disclaimer notice for external web sites. Thank you.