The E. M. Viquesney "Spirit of the American Doughboy" Database
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA
N 35° 45.874 / W 95° 24.850
Copyright version 1920, pressed copper.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: 47260092.
Copyright version 1920, pressed copper.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: 47260092.
In walkway to South ("Doughboy") entrance of Jack C. Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center at 1011 Honor Heights Drive.
The plaque on the front contains a circular symbol of "The Five Civilized Tribes" and, below that, reads:
ERECTED IN COMMEMORATION
OF MEMBERS OF THE FIVE
CIVILIZED TRIBES, WHOSE
RECORD OF ENLISTMENT,
CONDUCT IN CAMP, AND
FORTITUDE AND VALOR ON
THE BATTLEFIELD, ADDED
LUSTRE TO THE TRIUMPHANT
VICTORY OF OUR COUNTRY IN
THE WORLD WAR.
OF MEMBERS OF THE FIVE
CIVILIZED TRIBES, WHOSE
RECORD OF ENLISTMENT,
CONDUCT IN CAMP, AND
FORTITUDE AND VALOR ON
THE BATTLEFIELD, ADDED
LUSTRE TO THE TRIUMPHANT
VICTORY OF OUR COUNTRY IN
THE WORLD WAR.
(followed by seven names, including the then principal chiefs of the five tribes and the U. S. Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent of the combined Five Civilized Tribes.)
Below the above, engraved in the bottom two large stone blocks are the words “VICTORY” and “PEACE".
Descending engravings on the blocks on both sides of the monument are the names of the Five Civilized Tribes:
CHICKASAW
CHOCTAW
SEMINOLE
CHEROKEE
CREEK
CHOCTAW
SEMINOLE
CHEROKEE
CREEK
Descending on the blocks on the back are engravings naming historically famous leaders of the tribes:
COLBERT
PUSHMATAHA
OCEOLA
SEQUOYAH
OPOTHLE-YAHOLA
PUSHMATAHA
OCEOLA
SEQUOYAH
OPOTHLE-YAHOLA
The Doughboy was dedicated September 5, 1925. Allece Locke Garrard unveiled the statue. She read a poem written by her father, Ben Locke. Victor Locke, chief of the Choctaws, was her uncle, and Alice Brown Davis, chief of the Seminoles, was her grandmother. This was quite appropriate, because the ceremony also recognized Joseph Oklahombi, who was personally awarded the “Croix de Guerre” (France’s equivalent to the Congressional Medal of Honor) by Marshal Petain. Oklahombi was one of the World War I Choctaw “Code Talkers” (the famous World War II “Code Talkers” were Navajo). Oklahombi’s Croix de Guerre citation describes his heroic actions when he dashed, under a violent barrage, across 210 yards of no-man’s land through barbed wire entanglements, to storm a strongly held machine gun position, and captured about 50 German machine guns, several trench mortars, and 171 prisoners. He turned the machine guns on the enemy and held the position for four days, in spite of a constant barrage of large projectiles and gas shells. He also crossed no man’s land many times to get information concerning the enemy, and to assist his wounded comrades.
Muskogee’s is one of four known Viquesney Doughboys with a copyright plate reading “Walter Rylander 1920”. Walter Rylander of Americus, Georgia, was one of the veterans who posed for Viquesney in wartime gear. Viquesney encountered financial difficulties and transferred all the rights to him in early 1922 until he regained them in early 1926. Rylander has also sometimes been credited as being “the” Doughboy model, which is only partially correct. According to Viquesney, there were multiple models. Other known Rylander copyright marks are on Doughboys at Bolivar and Sedalia, Missouri, and St. Bernard, Ohio.
Muskogee and Bullhead, South Dakota are the only known Viquesney Doughboy locations which recognize Native Americans.
The Five Civilized Tribes Museum and a Choctaw War Memorial honoring the Choctaws who gave their lives and the Choctaw Code Talkers of World War I (by name) are near the Doughboy.
The Doughboy would benefit from cleaning and restoration.
Muskogee and Bullhead, South Dakota are the only known Viquesney Doughboy locations which recognize Native Americans.
The Five Civilized Tribes Museum and a Choctaw War Memorial honoring the Choctaws who gave their lives and the Choctaw Code Talkers of World War I (by name) are near the Doughboy.
The Doughboy would benefit from cleaning and restoration.
