The E. M. Viquesney "Spirit of the American Doughboy" Database
Photo provided by Swanton Doughboy aficionado, Bill Witt, Sr.
SWANTON, OHIO
N 41° 35.108 / W 083° 53.366
Copyright version 1920, pressed copper.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: 47260086.
Copyright version 1920, pressed copper.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: 47260086.
In Swanton City Memorial Park near intersection of Bassett Avenue and South Main.
Two plaque inscriptions on the front of the base read:
Upper:
SWANTON
REMEMBERS
Lower:
TO THE MEMORY
OF THE
VALIANT SONS OF
SWANTON & COMMUNITY
------------------
WORLD WAR
1917-1918
-----------------
THIS MEMORIAL IS
LOVINGLY DEDICATED
------------------
WE HOLD THEM IN OUR
GREATFUL [sic] HEARTS WITH
REVERENCE AND HONOR
FOREVER
* * * * * * * * * *
ERECTED 1926
Upper:
SWANTON
REMEMBERS
Lower:
TO THE MEMORY
OF THE
VALIANT SONS OF
SWANTON & COMMUNITY
------------------
WORLD WAR
1917-1918
-----------------
THIS MEMORIAL IS
LOVINGLY DEDICATED
------------------
WE HOLD THEM IN OUR
GREATFUL [sic] HEARTS WITH
REVERENCE AND HONOR
FOREVER
* * * * * * * * * *
ERECTED 1926
(While it has been known from the outset that “Grateful” was misspelled in the inscription, the people of Swanton have become used to it and would not think of correcting it after all these years.)
Dedicated Monday July 5, 1926 – July 4 was on Sunday. The monument was a gift of the French people in recognition of the proportionately high number from Swanton who gave their lives. (12 of the 250 who served). The French Embassy sent a telegram to the dedication ceremony. A record of the names of the twelve who gave their lives hasn’t been located.
The Doughboy’s rifle was vandalized several times through the years, and what was left of it was finally removed in 1983. A coat of gold paint was applied at that time, but most of that has worn away. The sculpture could benefit from some restoration treatment.
The cannon on a base in front of the Doughboy is a captured German World War mortar that was a gift of the U. S. government prior to the Doughboy’s arrival.
