The E. M. Viquesney "Spirit of the American Doughboy" Database
Photo: Omaha World Herald.
OMAHA, NEBRASKA
Formerly near N 37º 3.75 / W 95º 40.6241
Copyright version 1934, cast zinc.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: 47260064.
Copyright version 1934, cast zinc.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: 47260064.
Formerly in Highand Park at C Street between South 25th and South 26th.
Photo: Omaha World Herald.
Dedicated May 30, 1941 in South Omaha's Highland Park. The left hand and rifle were stolen in April 1942 (left) and the whole statue had disappeared by around 1959. There was also a plaque, but it's unreadable in the old, large-dot halftone newspaper photo, so there's no information as yet as to what was inscribed on it. There appears to be a Veterans of Foreign Wars emblem at the top.
The sculpture, for which most of Highland Park was redesigned to obtain a proper setting, was formally presented to the city in a combined military and civic ceremony.
More than one thousand people witnessed the rituals performed by the Rudolph Deml post, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and heard speakers consecrate the monument as a tribute to the war dead and a reminder of the responsibilities of the living.
Dr. J. M. Erman, past state commander of the VFW, made remarks, and Brig. Gen. Frederick E. Uhl, commander of the VII Army Corps area, also praised the monument.
Made possible by a campaign conducted by the Rudolph Deml post and the Highland Park Improvement Club, the statue was turned over by Mace Brown, club president, to Park Commissioner Roy Towl, who in turn presented it to Mayor Butler for the city. It was accepted on behalf of citizens by Philip Klutznick, attorney.
Ceremonies were preceded by a parade from South High School to the park at 25th and C Streets. In the line of march were General Uhl and his aides, Mayor Butler, members of the five local VFW posts and auxiliaries, representatives of the Disabled American Veterans, United Spanish War Veterans, American Legion posts, American War Mothers, the South High School band, Union Pacific and Melting Pot Legion drum corps, and representatives of 23 South Omaha civic bodies.
Our thanks to Lynn Sullivan of the Omaha Public Library for her research which revealed three old Omaha World Herald articles containing photos which confirmed this statue to be a Viquesney. Although one of the articles describes the statue as "bronze", this is one of Viquesney's 1934 copyright revision models made of cast zinc. One of the finishes available was a copper coating which made the statue appear to be made of bronze.
The sculpture, for which most of Highland Park was redesigned to obtain a proper setting, was formally presented to the city in a combined military and civic ceremony.
More than one thousand people witnessed the rituals performed by the Rudolph Deml post, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and heard speakers consecrate the monument as a tribute to the war dead and a reminder of the responsibilities of the living.
Dr. J. M. Erman, past state commander of the VFW, made remarks, and Brig. Gen. Frederick E. Uhl, commander of the VII Army Corps area, also praised the monument.
Made possible by a campaign conducted by the Rudolph Deml post and the Highland Park Improvement Club, the statue was turned over by Mace Brown, club president, to Park Commissioner Roy Towl, who in turn presented it to Mayor Butler for the city. It was accepted on behalf of citizens by Philip Klutznick, attorney.
Ceremonies were preceded by a parade from South High School to the park at 25th and C Streets. In the line of march were General Uhl and his aides, Mayor Butler, members of the five local VFW posts and auxiliaries, representatives of the Disabled American Veterans, United Spanish War Veterans, American Legion posts, American War Mothers, the South High School band, Union Pacific and Melting Pot Legion drum corps, and representatives of 23 South Omaha civic bodies.
Our thanks to Lynn Sullivan of the Omaha Public Library for her research which revealed three old Omaha World Herald articles containing photos which confirmed this statue to be a Viquesney. Although one of the articles describes the statue as "bronze", this is one of Viquesney's 1934 copyright revision models made of cast zinc. One of the finishes available was a copper coating which made the statue appear to be made of bronze.
