There have been few monuments in the history of Clarksville that have had as long a lifespan as the Doughboy. This statue of an American soldier holding a grenade in one hand, his rifle in the other, was dedicated to those who fought for the U.S. during World War I. It is one of Clarksville’s most beloved pieces of civic art.

Since its dedication in 1929, this statue has had an interesting existence. It has seen generations of Clarksville High School students grow up before its marble eyes. It has also been relocated around Clarksville several times.

According to The Leaf-Chronicle, the statue spent 43 years in front of Clarksville High School, before being moved to the armory on Ft. Campbell Boulevard in 1972.

On April 15, 2010, the Doughboy was rededicated in front of the Transit Station on Legion Street, in downtown Clarksville. Many descendants of World War I veterans were in attendance for the rededication ceremony, including the children of Alvin York, one of Tennessee’s most iconic World War I heroes.

In 2015, the Doughboy was relocated yet again to the Brigadier General Wendell H. Gilbert Tennessee State Veterans Home.

It was one of the few Doughboy statues of its type made out of stone. The Clarksville Doughboy is a rarity because it was sculpted from marble. Most of them were cast out of bronze.  The inscription reads:

In honor of
Montgomery County's Soldiers
and Sailors, World War
1917-1918

World War I Doughboy

Dedicated June 9, 1929
Restored and re-dedicated by the City of Clarksville, April 15, 2010
To those who fell and those who served: Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen

Individual Contributors
(List of those who contributed money to restore the monument)

World War I memorial on the grounds of the Montgomery County courthouse in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.

Nils Andersen (1926-93) sculpted a series of 11 bronze busts representing 11 major wars in which the U.S. has fought. Those re­lating to this period are the Spanish-American War Memorial Bust and the World War I Memorial Bust (Pilot), dedicated in May of 1989.

The World War I Montsec American Monument is located on the isolated hill of Montsec (Thiaucourt), France. This majestic monument, commemorating the achievements of the American soldiers who fought in this region in 1917 and 1918, dominates the landscape for miles around. It commemorates reduction of the St. Mihiel Salient by the U.S. First Army, September 12-16, 1918, and operations of the U.S. Second Army, November 9-11. It also honors combat services of other U.S. divisions in this region and in Alsace and Lorraine. Names of nearby villages liberated by American troops are carved upon the outside frieze.

It consists of a classic circular colonnade with a broad approach stairway. Within its center is a bronze relief map of the St. Mihiel salient, illustrating the military operations that took place there. The monument was slightly damaged during World War II, but has been repaired. From this vantage point the trenches used during the fighting can be seen.

The World War I Montsec American Monument is located on the isolated hill of Montsec (Thiaucourt), France 12 miles southwest of St. Mihiel American Cemetery and 10 miles east of the town of St. Mihiel. The entrance to the memorial's access road is immediately west of the center of Montsec Village, France. The Montsec Monument, atop the Butte Montsec, is reached via Highways D 12 and D 119 to Montsec, then a road up the hill.

On the side of the statue is a plaque honoring those from World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The statue was erected in the 1920's so it was obviously erected (as the plaque at the front reads) for World War I. The other plaque was added much later and also goes with a larger monument wall behind the Doughboy that looks similar to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. and features soldiers' names on those walls.

This monument with name plaques is on display on the grounds of the Morgan County Courthouse in West Liberty, Kentucky.

The inscription on this memorial, erected in 1923 by Thomas Henry Simpson, reads:
"In commemoration of the boys who served their country so faithfully and well in the World War."

Mr. T.H. Simpson was a native of McConnelsville and owner of the Michigan Malleable Iron Company. He died before this monument was dedicated.

Mount Greylock Veterans War Memorial Tower

100 Cities / 100 Memorials

For 84 years, the 93-foot Veterans War Memorial Tower at Mount Greylock, the Commonwealth's official war memorial, has served as an important tribute to the brave Americans who sacrificed so much for our country and for our freedom. Designed by Boston-based architects Maginnes + Walsh, the War Memorial Tower was dedicated on June 30, 1933.  Prominently positioned on the highest peak in Massachusetts, the Tower is susceptible to punishing summit weather. Closed in 2013 due to unsafe conditions, the tower was restored to its original glory in commemoration of the centennial of the Great War and re-opened in 2017. The restoration and re-dedication of this monument is a symbol of our commitment to never forget those who have given their lives in service to our great nation.  The memorial tower is 93-feet in height from base to beacon.  At the public observation level, it is crowned with eight observation windows, which provide expansive views of 70 miles across three states and a surrounding view of the Berkshire landscape. Mounted on top of the memorial is the bronze beacon, which was originally lighted by 12 search lights. Once lighted, it is intended to not only keep bright the memory of Massachusetts’ war heroes and their “inspiration and hope,” but it also guides aviators over the Berkshires at night. Inscribed over the entrance to the tower is the seal of the Commonwealth, and a dedication in classic letters: “Erected by Massachusetts in grateful recognition of the loyalty and sacrifice of her sons and daughters in war.” Inside the base of the tower is a domed memorial chamber with a colorful mosaic tiled ceiling. On separate walls within the chamber, and in no particular order, is a poetic tribute to the state’s fallen veterans written in gold letters. The tribute reads:  SLEEP WELL, HEROIC SOULS, IN SILENCE SLEEP, LAPPED IN THE CIRCLING ARMS OF KINDLY DEATH! ---- GRIM DEATH HAS VANISHED, LEAVING IN ITS STEAD THE SHINING GLORY OF THE LIVING DEAD ---- IF YE BREAK FAITH WITH US WHO DIE WE SHALL NOT SLEEP, THOUGH POPPIES GROW IN FLANDERS FIELDS ---- LIFE IS NO LIFE TO HIM WHO DARES NOT DIE.

The inscription on this memorial, erected 1920 by the Order of the Eastern Star, Winolia Chapter No. 59, reads:

"IN MEMORY OF OUR LOCAL LOYAL DEFENDERS WHO OFFERED THEIR LIVES IN THE CAUSE OF WORLD DEMOCRACY, 1914–1918."

A female angel's head is carved at the top of a tall square shaft of gray granite or marble, which rests on a low two-stepped circular base. The angel wears a laurel wreath on her head and holds a long sword which extends down the front of the shaft. On the sides are the angel's wings and the folds of the drapery she wears. This was sculpted by Joseph A. Coletti and dedicated on October 19, 1947, in memory of the 210 WWI and WWII veterans of St. Joseph Parish.

Erected by: Daughters of the American Revolution
Red Cedar Chapter, Mower County, MO 

Text below is quoted from the Historical Society brochure:

Members of the Red Cedar Chapter have been very diligent in the care of this
tribute to the Mower County men who gave their lives in World War I. Originally
placed in Todd Park at the edge of a grove of sixty-four elm trees, one planted
for each man named on the tablet, it has been moved to several locations over
the years since it was first placed. After the trees succumbed to age and Dutch
elm disease, the boulder was removed from the park to the court house square,
then to Main Street N and 5th Place NW, in the area of the city’s public swimming
pool. During 2014 construction of the area, the marker was again displaced to
a temporary site in another area near the pool and finally to it’s present and
permanent location on the grounds of the Mower County Historical Society.

Mower County Government Comples
Main Street N. @ 2nd Avenue NE.
136 2nd Ave. NE
Austin, MN 55912

Replica bronze plaques on a large boulder. These plaques replaced the originals, which were lost sometime in the 1970s.

The war tribute is located on the grounds of the Lovett Memorial Library, a neighborhood branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. The memorial was originally dedicated May 25, 1924.

The names of 34 men and one woman from Mount Airy who lost their lives during the First World War are listed on the larger plaque (20” X 30”), with the smaller plaque stating that the boulder is from Valley Forge.

The replacement bronzes wer made by Franklin Bronze Plaques, Franklin, PA. The plastic replicas were made by a sign company in Ardmore, PA. Both sets of plaques were paid for by the Friends of the Lovett Memorial Library. Planned during 2016., the re-dedication of the plaques had to await completion of a $31 million renovation and expansion of the Lovett library branch.

For safekeeping, the new bronzes are mounted inside the library in the Community Room, with excellent plastic replicas mounted on the boulder outside the library on Germantown Avenue.

Research by Professor Kenneth Finkel of Temple University uncovered a photograph of the boulder, with original plaques, in the Philadelphia City Archives. This was the key discovery which made possible the creation of the replacement plaques. Until then, the plaques could not be replaced as the inscription text was not known.