The E. M. Viquesney "Spirit of the American Doughboy" Database
LAKEMORE, OHIO
"Resting Doughboy"
N 41° 1.2958 / W 81° 25.8755
Unique version, copyright 1936, cast zinc.
Smithsonian IAS Control Number: OH000514.
"Resting Doughboy"
N 41° 1.2958 / W 81° 25.8755
Unique version, copyright 1936, cast zinc.
Smithsonian IAS Control Number: OH000514.
At the intersection of Park, Lake Road and Short Street, Lakemore, OH.
The rededication plaque reads:
IN MEMORY OF
ALL VETERANS OF
OUR COMMUNITY
WHO HONORABLY
SERVED OR PAID THE
SUPREME SACRIFICE
IN DEFENSE OF
THIS COUNTRY
ARMY NAVY 273
MAY 30 1988
IN MEMORY OF
ALL VETERANS OF
OUR COMMUNITY
WHO HONORABLY
SERVED OR PAID THE
SUPREME SACRIFICE
IN DEFENSE OF
THIS COUNTRY
ARMY NAVY 273
MAY 30 1988
This little WWI memorial is the only one known; no other Viquesney Doughboy monument looks like it. It's called "Resting Doughboy" and stands in Lakemore, OH. About three feet tall, it's mounted atop a tall cenotaph. Copyrighted in 1936, it was cast around 1937, dedicated in 1938 and rededicated fifty years later on May 30, 1988, after being repaired and reinstalled after a truck accident. It is being maintained by Army and Navy Garrison No. 273.
The Lakemore sculpture is unique among the other Viquesney Doughboy monuments, both in size and pose. It's also a true casting of zinc, like the 1934 copyright version of his Doughboy.
The statue is listed on the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) website, but with an incorrect title and a wrong copyright date of 1930.
It was only after a visitor, Scott Bieszczad of Perrysburg, OH, took photographs of the inscriptions on the base, that the actual title of the piece was confirmed to be Resting Doughboy, with a copyright date of 1936. Scott also noticed a misspelling of the sculptor's name as "M VIQUESMEY" on the base.
The Lakemore sculpture is unique among the other Viquesney Doughboy monuments, both in size and pose. It's also a true casting of zinc, like the 1934 copyright version of his Doughboy.
The statue is listed on the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) website, but with an incorrect title and a wrong copyright date of 1930.
It was only after a visitor, Scott Bieszczad of Perrysburg, OH, took photographs of the inscriptions on the base, that the actual title of the piece was confirmed to be Resting Doughboy, with a copyright date of 1936. Scott also noticed a misspelling of the sculptor's name as "M VIQUESMEY" on the base.
The faint, worn inscription on the front reads ''RESTING DOUGHBOY''.
It appears to have an overstrike on the word ''DOUGHBOY''.
It appears to have an overstrike on the word ''DOUGHBOY''.
The faint, worn inscription on the back reads:
COPYRIGHTED 1936 BY
M VIQUESMEY [sic] SCULPTOR
SPENCER INDIANA
COPYRIGHTED 1936 BY
M VIQUESMEY [sic] SCULPTOR
SPENCER INDIANA
On the night of September 9 or early morning of September 10, 2008, the statue was broken off at the ankles and stolen by metal thieves who probably thought it was copper or bronze. The statue was recovered September 23 in Mogadore Reservoir in Portage County by fisherman Michael Wright. The statue suffered damage to the head, and the left hand and rifle were missing. John Stathopoulos, of Stathos Construction and Engineering, restored the zinc statue, which is now kept inside the garrison at 1391 Main Street. Stathopoulos made a bronze replica which stands at the original location in the triangle in the middle of town. It was rededicated Memorial Day, 2009.
