Memorial

This Spirit of the American Doughboy Memorial, sculpted by E.M Viquesney, was dedicated on May 30, 1931 in Rose Hill Cemetery, where 346 veterans, including 86 from World War I, are buried. The plaque reads:

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY
OF OUR BOYS WHO ENTERED THE
SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY
FROM MECHANICSVILLE, IOWA
SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY
OF BUSCH-DENNIS POST NO. 309
1931

Update June 2022: In serious need of restoration, with funds raised by the community, the statue is being restored and is expected be back on its pedestal by Veterans Day 2022.

This bronze statue atop a concrete base was sculpted by E.M Viquesney (1876-1946).  It was erected by the Anniston Post of the American Legion in 1922 at a cost of $2,000.  It is dedicated to the Calhoun County men who served in the Great War.   The monument received conservation treatment in 2016.

This is an E.M. Viquesney Spirit of the American Doughboy statue, installed in May 1925, depicting a World War I infantryman advancing through the barbed wire and stumps of No Man's Land, while he carries a rifle and holds a hand grenade aloft. 

The plaque reads:

AXTELL BOYS
WHO SERVED IN
THE WORLD WAR
1914 – 1918                                                                                                                    (Followed by 150 names in two columns. Two nurses are named first.  Four names have stars indicating they were killed).

The monument's acquisition was initiated by the R. R. Hendricks Post 214 of the American Legion. It was dedicated in the center of the intersection May 31, 1925 and relocated in 1960 to a small piece of land that had been leased from the railroad for that purpose in 1955. The total cost was about $1,850, of which $1,175 was for the sculpture and the rest for the base, the plaque and freight. Except for $150 paid from the town treasury, it was paid for by a public subscription project that took two years of raising funds by box-socials, raffles, and other events.

This sculpture is one of many casts made from EM Viquesney's doughboy design. Monuments using this design are scattered around NJ & the United States.

The sculpture, set upon a granite base, depicts a World War I infantryman advancing through the stumps and barbed wire of "No Man's Land."  He holds a rifle in his left hand & a grenade in his raised right hand.

The monument was erected in honor and memory of those from Belmar who served in World War I.

The doughboy sculpture was damaged by vandals in 2017. 

Narrative adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS)  inventory #47260066. 

Photos courtesy of:
Statue - NJ State Historic Preservation Office
Dedication on Memorial Day 1930 - EM Viquesney Doughboy Database & Nick Mihalic 

This sculpture currently sits atop a limestone pedestal at the South entrance of Linn Park, flanking the later Memorial to the Spanish American War. It was dedicated on November 11, 1923, where it sat at the front entrance to Municipal Auditorium, now known as Boutwell Auditorium. The statue was moved to the entrance of Linn Park, probably sometime in 1957, after a renovation to the front of the auditorium that year. The memorial was commissioned by the Greek-American Citizens of Birmingham in honor of the American Legion Birmingham Post No. 1. Its plaque is inscribed "In memory of the comrades who gave their lives in the service of our country during the World War. Presented to Birmingham Post No. 1 of the American Legion by the Greek-American Citizens. Birmingham, Alabama. Armistice Day 1923."  The plaque was stolen from the statue's base at some time in late 2010.  

This sculpture is one of many casts made from EM Viquesney's doughboy design. Monuments using this design are scattered around NJ & the United States.

The sculpture, set upon a concrete base, depicts a World War I infantryman advancing through the stumps and barbed wire of "No Man's Land."  He holds a rifle in his left hand & a grenade in his raised right hand.

The monument was donated in 1922 by Dover Township resident, Peter C. Buck.  

Narrative adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System Inventory (SIRIS) inventory #47260068. 

Photo courtesy of:  EM Viquesney Doughboy Database & Frank Poolas 

This sculpture is one of many casts made from EM Viquesney's doughboy design. Monuments using this design are scattered around NJ & the US.

This copper cast sculpture, set upon a pink Maine granite base with beveled corners, depicts a World War I infantryman advancing through the stumps and barbed wire of "No Man's Land."  He holds a rifle in his left hand & a grenade in his raised right hand.

The monument was dedicated on August 16, 1924, in honor of Fair Haven residents who served in WWI. The base contains a bronze plaque with a Fair Haven World War I honor roll.  It cost approximately $1,000 with an undisclosed sum for the base. The Memorial Park Committee financed it by holding several events including a boxing tournament feature Gene Tunney.

In the late 1960s, vandals stole the rifle and broke the figure’s left hand.  In 1995, the sculpture was refurbished.

Narrative adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) inventory #NJ000436. 

Photos Credit:  NJ State Historic Preservation Office

This is an E. M. Viquesney-sculpted pressed-copper figure of a WWI infantryman advancing through the stumps and barbed wire of No Man's Land, holding a rifle and grenade.  Originally located in Tillis Park, since approx. 1922, it was moved to the American Legion Post because of vandalism.  It is mounted on a fieldstone base and is dedicated to those who entered service from Fort Smith.

This sculpture is one of many casts made from EM Viquesney's doughboy design. Monuments using this design are scattered around NJ & the US.

This bronze cast sculpture, set upon a base, depicts a World War I infantryman advancing through the stumps and barbed wire of "No Man's Land."  He holds a rifle in his left hand & a grenade in his raised right hand.

The sculpture was erected in 1926 on the front lawn of Frenchtown High School (presently Edith Ort Thomas Elementary School) to honor Frenchtown & vicinity soldiers who served in World War I. The sculpture cost $2,700.

In the summer of 1995, the sculpture was refurbished and cleaned by the Easton Memorial Finishing Works of Easton, PA. The rifle end was refashioned and attached, and the sculpture was sandblasted and buffed. A new plaque honoring veterans of subsequent wars was added and the sculpture was rededicated on November 11, 1995.

Narrative adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Infomration System (SIRIS) inventory #NJ000454. 

Photo courtesy of: Alan Edelson & Historical Marker Database

In 1921, three years after the Armistice was signed, Furman University and Greenville paid tribute to the university's World War I veterans in a moving ceremony that unveiled a memorial statue of a doughboy. The copper soldier was one of numerous doughboy statues designed by E.M Viquesney - depicting a soldier rushing into battle, wielding a grenade in one hand and a rifle in the other - dedicated to honor veterans of World War I.  When the Furman Doughboy was first dedicated, hundreds of area residents turned out at the old campus in downtown Greenville. A bugler played taps as Mrs. T.J. Lyons, the mother of a Furman student who died in France during the war, gently loosened the fastening of the American flag that shrouded the statue.

An article in the July 1921 issue of the Furman Bulletin reported that the "handsome statue with splashes of molten gold and the youthful figure of an American Doughboy in France, preserved in lasting metal and stone, stood revealed to the eyes of the expectant throng." When the statue was uncovered, "applause broke forth. Tears filled the eyes of beholders. The base's rear reads: "More than 500 Furman men served in the World War." and ex-service men wept as they saw the figure, so life-like, emerge."

Five hundred and forty Furman men, almost the entire student body of the then all-male college, volunteered for service during the Great War. Six of them died during the war: Pvt. Thomas J. Lyons Jr.; Pvt. Otis Brodie; Lt. John H. David (the first South Carolina officer killed in action); Lt. Charles S. Gardner (who, though seriously wounded, refused to be removed from the battle); Sgt. Charles E. Timmons Jr. (who "went to death beyond the call of duty, while aiding men from another company"); and Cpl. Talmadge W. Gerrald (who gave his life trying to save a wounded comrade). Their names are inscribed at the base of the Doughboy.

Since that dedication day, the Furman Doughboy has become one of the university's most enduring landmarks. When Furman moved to its current location, so did the Doughboy. It was erected near the south end of the lake in 1957 and is one of the few surviving remnants of the old campus.

Over the last forty years, the Doughboy has lost its luster. The weather has taken its toll, and on two occasions it has been vandalized. The statue was moved for refurbishing to the Upcountry History Museum and the Furman University Library, and in 2004 a completely new replacement was cast in bronze by sculptor Maria J. Kirby Smith and placed back on campus at Childers Plaza.

The plaques that were with the Doughboy at its former location were also moved to Childers Plaza.

Two new plaques read: (on the low left brick column)

DOUGHBOY
ARTIST: E. M. VIQUESNEY
STATUE ORIGINALLY INSTALLED IN 1921 AT
THE DOWNTOWN GRENVILLE MEN’S CAMPUS
AND RECONSTRUCTED IN 2004 BY ARTIST
MARIA KIRBY-SMITH.
THE DOUGHBOY FACES EAST TOWARD
THE BATTLEFIELDS OF FRANCE.   and on the low right brick column:

CHILDERS PLAZA
PROVIDED BY
ELAINE DUFFY CHILDERS ’43
WACO F. CHILDERS, JR. ’47
AND
FRIENDS OF
FURMAN UNIVERSITY

This E.M. Viquesney Doughboy, a life-sized figure of a WWI soldier advancing through No Man's Land, was dedicated on November 11, 1937.  The engraving across the left, front, and right ledge of the concrete base reads:

IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO DIED FOR GOD AND COUNTRY 

A plaque inscription on the rear of the base reads:

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY
OF THE PATRIOTIC CITIZENS
OF RUSSELL COUNTY, KENTUCKY
WHO ENTERED THE SERVICE
OF THE COUNTRY
DURING THE WORLD WAR
PRESENTED BY
RUSSELL POST NO. 133
AMERICAN LEGION
NOVEMBER 11, 1937

At some time a new plaque was added to the front of the base which reads:

FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF SERVICE
MEN FROM RUSSELL COUNTY WHO LOST THEIR
LIVES WHILE SERVING THEIR COUNTRY DURING
ONE OF THE WARS AS LISTED.

(Followed by 3 columns of names from WWI, WWII, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars)

On the night of February 19, 2008, the monument was struck and severely damaged by a pickup truck driven by an alleged drunk driver. The statue was knocked off its pedestal, and the right arm and left hand and rifle were broken off. The pieces of the statue were recovered and were housed inside the fire department for safekeeping. As the original zinc statue was considered too heavily damaged, replacement with a bronze duplicate was completed by Innocast Execuline, the same firm that replaced the New Ulm, Minnesota Doughboy in 1995. The insurance company that covered the vehicle involved in the accident contributed $25,000 to the cost of replacing the Doughboy. The new Doughboy was erected on September 19, 2008, and a rededication ceremony was held on November 11, the 71st anniversary of the original dedication. Sergeant Alvin York, the most decorated U.S. soldier in WWI, was present for the original dedication in 1937. His sons, Andrew and George York, were present at the 2008 rededication, with George York presenting some remarks. Sadly, in a virtual repeat of 2008, the statue was again hit by a vehicle on December 23, 2018, and once more knocked off its pedestal. 

This statue was sculpted by E.M. Viquesney and dedicated on November 11, 1935.  It depicts a WWI infantryman advancing through the barbed wire and stumps of No Man's Land.  It was shattered on July 4, 1982 in a truck accident and recast the following year, and again dedicated on November 11, 1983. A 1935 plaque honors the memory of the citizens of Casey County who died in service in WWI.

The inscription on the plaque on the front of the concrete base reads:

DEDICATED TO
THE MEMORY OF OUR COMRADES
WHO ENTERED THE SERVICE
OF THEIR COUNTRY
FROM CASEY COUNTY, KENTUCKY
AND WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES
IN THE WORLD WAR.
ERECTED BY THE CITIZENS OF
CASEY CO. AND ELSEWHERE
UNDER AUSPICES OF
CASEY POST NO. 78, AMERICAN LEGION
NOVEMBER 11, 1935

An inscription on a plaque on the back of the base reads:

THOSE WHO MADE
THE SUPREME SACRIFICE
DURING THE WORLD WAR
1917-1918
CASEY COUNTY, KENTUCKY
(followed by list of 32 names in two columns)

The plaque on the near side honors, by name, those who made the supreme sacrifice in Vietnam (7) and Korea (6), and a plaque on the far side honors those who made the supreme sacrifice in World War II (75).

This sculpture is one of many casts made from EM Viquesney's doughboy design. Monuments using this design are scattered around NJ & the US.

This bronze cast sculpture, set upon a granite base, depicts a World War I infantryman advancing through the stumps and barbed wire of "No Man's Land."  He holds a rifle in his left hand & a grenade in his raised right hand.

The monument was dedicated on Memorial Day 1927. The base contains a bronze plaque with a Matawan World War I honor roll.

Narrative adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) inventory #47260070. 

Photo courtesy of:  NJ State Historic Preservation Office

The inscription on the plaque on the ground reads:  

1898                    1917-1918
McCOY
PARK
Sponsored by
American Legion and
Spanish War Veterans
DEDICATED
to the
DEAD SOLDIERS

Dedicated along with the park on May 19, 1929. The left hand, bayonet and rifle were lost many years ago and the right arm was torn off in 1979. It was restored later that year in a little more forward position than it is on other Doughboys. After being lost again, the rifle was replaced by the pistol visible in the photograph to discourage people from swinging from it. The fence was also placed to discourage vandalism. The park was founded in a joint effort of the American Legion and Spanish-American War Veterans, but they could not agree on whether the statue should be of a soldier of the World War or the Spanish-American War. As a result, school children raised a small part of the cost, and a local physician paid $2,000 for the remainder of the monument’s costs from his own funds. An unsuccessful attempt was made in 1999 to have the Doughboy included in the National Register of Historic Places. 

This sculpture is one of many casts made from EM Viquesney's doughboy design. Monuments using this design are scattered around NJ & the US.

This bronze cast sculpture, set upon a granite base, depicts a World War I infantryman advancing through the stumps and barbed wire of "No Man's Land."  He holds a rifle in his left hand & a grenade in his raised right hand.

The monument was dedicated on Armistice Day 1930. The base contains a bronze plaque dedicating to Perth Amboy residents who served in wars prior to & including WWI. 

Originally installed on the corner of Amboy Avenue & Pfeiffer Boulevard, the statue was moved to its current site around 1979.

Narrative adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) inventory #47260070.

Photo courtesy of: EM Viquesney Doughboy Database & Perth Amboy Public Library

This sculpture is one of many casts made from EM Viquesney's doughboy design. Monuments using this design are scattered around NJ & the US.

This bronze cast sculpture, set upon a granite base, depicts a World War I infantryman advancing through the stumps and barbed wire of "No Man's Land."  He holds a rifle in his left hand & a grenade in his raised right hand.

The monument was dedicated on September 3, 1923. The base contains a WWI honor roll plaque on the front, & an honor roll for subsequent conflicts on other sides.

Narrative adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) inventory #47260071. 

Photo courtesy of:  EM Viquesney Doughboy Database & Nick Pagnetti

This sculpture is one of many casts made from EM Viquesney's doughboy design. Monuments using this design are scattered around NJ & the US.

This bronze cast sculpture, set upon a granite base, depicts a World War I infantryman advancing through the stumps and barbed wire of "No Man's Land."  He holds a rifle in his left hand & a grenade in his raised right hand.

The monument was erected in memory of Joseph Hassendorder, who made the supreme sacrifice, and in honor of the boys of Secaucus who served their country in the World War.

Narrative adapted from Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) inventory #NJ000238. 

Photo courtesy of:  Michael Herrick & Historical Marker Database