The E. M. Viquesney "Spirit of the American Doughboy" Database
MERIDIAN, MISSISSIPPI
N 32° 21.842 / W 088° 42.075
Copyright version 1920, pressed copper.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: MS000135.
Copyright version 1920, pressed copper.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: MS000135.
On top of a large monument on a triangular plot (now known as Dumont Plaza) bounded by 6th Street, 7th Street and 23rd Avenue, across the street from Trustmark Bank in Downtown Meridian.
A grille was originally across the recessed area on the front of the monument, with a bronze plaque inside inscribed:
“1917-1918. To the glory of God and in honor of those of Lauderdale County who patriotically answered the call of their country to uphold justice and the rights of humanity in loving remembrance of those who therein made the supreme sacrifice.”
“1917-1918. To the glory of God and in honor of those of Lauderdale County who patriotically answered the call of their country to uphold justice and the rights of humanity in loving remembrance of those who therein made the supreme sacrifice.”
A door with a large American Legion emblem is now in that area. An attempt to learn what, if anything, is behind the door has not been successful.
A marker at the base of a nearby tree has an inscription that reads:
MEMORY TREE FOUNDATION
ESTABLISHED 1998 MERIDIAN , MISSISSIPPI
DEDICATED TO THE IN REMEMBRANCE OF
GLORY OF GOD AND THOSE WHO HAVE
COUNTRY, TO THE SERVED OR SERVE
ENCOURAGEMENT ‘THIS GREAT COUNTRY’
AND PRESERVATION THE UNITED STATES
OF THE MEMORIES. OF AMERICA.
FIRST MEMORY TREE
NOVEMBER 11, 1998
MEMORY TREE FOUNDATION
ESTABLISHED 1998 MERIDIAN , MISSISSIPPI
DEDICATED TO THE IN REMEMBRANCE OF
GLORY OF GOD AND THOSE WHO HAVE
COUNTRY, TO THE SERVED OR SERVE
ENCOURAGEMENT ‘THIS GREAT COUNTRY’
AND PRESERVATION THE UNITED STATES
OF THE MEMORIES. OF AMERICA.
FIRST MEMORY TREE
NOVEMBER 11, 1998
An engraved image of the monument is in the space between the two columns of the above inscription. Subsequent memory trees were not found at the monument site when these photographs were taken in May 2001.
The Doughboy was dedicated by the T. C. Carter American Legion Post #21 November 11, 1927. There is a small cannon on the triangular base immediately in front of the monument.
Thomas Clay Carter, Jr. was acting company commander of the 320th Machine Gun Battalion during WW I. Before enlisting for service in World War I, he attended Marion Military Institute (1906-1908), Marion, Alabama, and the University of Virginia. 1st Lieutenant Carter was killed in October, 1918, in the Argonne Forest in France while checking for enemy gun emplacements. He was buried nearby. In 1921, his remains were removed to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The American Legion Post #21, Meridian, Mississippi, is named in his honor. They also have the flag which covered his casket at Arlington.
Below: An old postcard view of the monument, with the impressive Threefoot Building in the background.
Links:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22552325@N00/253574623/
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=89b261b8-d799-4b3b-90f2-1ac370a7d98f
http://meridianstar.com/columns/x1703946991/We-celebrate-because-we-are-free
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMCW4T_Spirit_of_the_American_Doughboy_Meridian_Mississippi
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Meridian_Doughboy_Monument.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22552325@N00/253574623/
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=89b261b8-d799-4b3b-90f2-1ac370a7d98f
http://meridianstar.com/columns/x1703946991/We-celebrate-because-we-are-free
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMCW4T_Spirit_of_the_American_Doughboy_Meridian_Mississippi
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Meridian_Doughboy_Monument.jpg
