The E. M. Viquesney "Spirit of the American Doughboy" Database
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Above: Three known versions and a possible fourth (far right).
Photos (l to r): Fostoria Focus; ''BenjaminPC'' (Flickr.com); Seth Gaines (Flickr.com); Pamela Smith.
Photos (l to r): Fostoria Focus; ''BenjaminPC'' (Flickr.com); Seth Gaines (Flickr.com); Pamela Smith.
"THE SPIRIT OF THE AMERICAN DOUGHBOY"
Earl D. Goldsmith, The Woodlands, Texas
Replications of E. M. Viquesney’s “The Spirit of the American Doughboy” are believed to be the focal points of over ten-percent of U. S. World War I memorials, exclusive of those memorials that are merely plaques. Additionally, some believe that except for the Statue of Liberty, Viquesney’s Doughboy replicas have collectively been seen by more people than any sculpture in the U. S., even though many don’t realize they have seen them.
Toward the end of his time living in Americus, Georgia, in 1920 Viquesney created his Doughboy in response to a national interest to honor those who died, were wounded, or served in the World War. He said he started thinking about creating a sculpture and what it should depict, as well as making preliminary sketches, during the war. (While the war was still in process, Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of War, Newton Baker, encouraged communities across the nation to erect memorial or monuments to honor the Doughboys, and that may have contributed to Viquesney’s initial thought on that line.) While he wanted to depict an American soldier in battle, he didn’t want to depict excessive might or power by portraying a soldier charging or running forward. Instead, he wanted to depict the "spirit" of the American Doughboy's determination to preserve freedom for their country and mankind. So he portrayed a Doughboy striding firmly forward in an erect posture through "no man’s land."
One of the most readily recognizable features of "Spirit of The American Doughboy" is his upwardly extended right arm with a grenade in the upraised hand. The other is the two stumps at his right front and left rear. His left arm extends downward and his left hand holds a bayoneted 1903 Springfield rifle, pointed forward at about thigh height. He wears a flat steel helmet, trousers bloused above the knee, and puttees (wrapped leggings) below the knees, all of the type worn by Doughboys in World War I. He wears a rectangular bedroll backpack with a bayonet scabbard on the side, a square gas mask pouch on his chest, a cartridge belt, canteen, mess kit, and first aid kit. Since he’s striding, rather than running or charging, his leading left leg is straight. His right leg is bent and, while the right heel is raised, the right sole is on the "ground." Barbed wire was originally strung loosely around his feet and the stumps, but it’s been removed for safety reasons from some Doughboys and is missing from others for other reasons.
The most replicated version of the Doughboy is of pressed copper or bronze alloy sheets (left photo above) formed by machine die-stamping more than 75 separate pieces which were then welded together over an internal metal frame. The Doughboy is hollow and weighs only about 200 pounds, except in locations where cement or some other substance has been put in the legs or lower body to lower its center of gravity and add stability – a matter that’s been regretted in some instances. In addition to being much lighter than a cast Doughboy would be, he was only about 20% as costly as a cast sculpture would have been at the time, which might help explain why so many were placed across the country in the 1920s and 1930s. It's now known that at least three, and very likely more of these pressed sheet metal Doughboys were fabricated by the Friedley-Voshardt Company of Chicago, Illinois.
Viquesney made several revisions and obtained a new copyright on his Doughboy in 1934 (second from left photo above). At this time, he also switched from pressed copper or bronze sheets to cast zinc (often copper-plated to make the statue look like bronze). The most noticeable differences are that the knee-high stumps of the 1920 version are significantly shorter on the 1934 version, which also has "SPIRIT OF THE AMERICAN DOUGHBOY" embossed across the front of the base. The only title on the 1920 version (if it's present) is found on the small copyright plate on the base below the proper right foot. The copyright plate on the 1934 version is on the rear of the base. A minor difference is that the mouth on the 1920 version is open to the extent that crooked upper teeth are visible, while the teeth are not visible on the earliest 1934 models (in 1935 and later, the mouth is thinner, and the teeth show faintly). Additionally, the inside of the raised right heel touches the side of the rear stump on the 1920 version. It is raised, but not as high, on the 1934 version, and is separated from the stump. A sample of business correspondence obtained from the Smithsonian Institution indicates that Viquesney's zinc Doughboys were fabricated by Raphael Groppi Studio of Chicago, Illinois.
Viquesney also created a stone Doughboy of marble, in possibly two versions (two right photos, above). The principal visual difference from metal Doughboys is that stone Doughboys don’t have the two stumps. Instead, they have a hip-high tree trunk adjoining the figure at the left rear. While the stone Doughboy with full battle gear was copyrighted in 1922, the first ones known to have been placed as memorials were dedicated in 1930 in Madison, Georgia and Parsons, Kansas. The only other copyright 1922 stone Doughboy known to have been created was placed in Madison, West Virginia in 1938.
With respect to stone Doughboys, five unsigned, untitled, and uncopyrighted stone Doughboys are located in Eufaula and Headland, Alabama, Troy, North Carolina, Clarksville, Tennessee, and Texarkana, Texas (the last, if it's really a Viquesney Doughboy, is the only known private memorial). They’re all quite similar to Viquesney’s 1922 copyrighted stone design, in that they have the upraised right hand with a grenade, the more or less horizontally held rifle in the left hand, and the large rear tree trunk, as well as the cartridge belt and puttees. But they don’t have the field pack, gas mask pouch, or canteen. A recent match-up in records shows that the known Viquesney stone Doughboy in Madison, Georgia and the unmarked stone Doughboy in Clarksville, Tennessee were both made and sold by McNeel Marble Company of Marietta, Georgia. This could be a "smoking gun" that connects Viquesney to these previously unidentified statues, or it could simply mean that McNeel was producing its own knock-offs and passing them off as Viquesney's work, while at the same time also producing the genuine article whenever an order came in from Viquesney himself. Evidence for this less-than-honest type of business dealing by McNeel was revealed when it was discovered that these stone Doughboys, advertised as carved from "pure Italian marble" by artisans in Italy, were found to be made of local Georgia or Alabama marble, but the purchasers were charged for the former. To add insult to injury, customers were forced to wait up to six months for the supposed carving in "Italy" to be completed, then likely charged a hefty "overseas" shipping fee in addition to paying an inflated price for a statue made of local stone.
Also of note is the installation date of the Eufaula, Alabama Doughboy, reported on various websites to be 1920. If true, that would make it the earliest known installation of a Viquesney Doughboy, if indeed it really is one. But Viquesney's first statue with the actual title "Spirit of the American Doughboy" wasn't made public until early 1921, although he had been working on his design since at least 1918, and had a clay mock-up ready by 1919. Did McNeel get wind of Viquesney's design and come out with their own statue before he did, or was this version without the battle gear just an early Viquesney design? Nobody really knows.
Even Viquesney's genuine signed stone Doughboys, also advertised as Italian marble, were made of the same local stone from McNeel. Did the artist know? Almost certainly. His original trade was as a stonecarver; he would absolutely have known the difference between local stone and genuine Italian marble. Unfortunately, Viquesney's sales methods were not always quite "on the up and up".
Viquesney said he devoted a lot of effort to studying battle gear worn by the Doughboys, and that some veterans posed for him in field uniforms and gear and that he viewed many photographs. That statement is supported by the fact that in a letter he received in the Spring of 1921, his Doughboy was judged in a Centralia, Washington national competition of World War memorial sculptures to be a "100% perfect" representation of equipment and gear Doughboys wore. It was also reported that Viquesney’s Doughboy was selected to "grace" a Centralia monument endorsed by the American Legion as its official World War memorial. Indeed, in the letter mentioned above, the last sentence stated quite explicitly, "This will be the one design adopted by the American Legion as its National Memorial".
But the Doughboy statue, "The Sentinel", that stands in Centralia today is by another sculptor, Alonzo Victor Lewis. What happened? No one knows. Lewis' statue was unveiled in Centralia on Armistice Day, 1924, and the National American Legion subsequently denied it had ever endorsed “The Spirit of the American Doughboy. On the other hand, the Legion magazine routinely carried advertisements for Viquesney's Doughboy, letting pass such claims as "Authenticated by the American Legion", or "Remember there is only one endorsed statue...". But actually the Doughboy was enthusiastically endorsed by many Legion, VFW and other veteran organization posts active in their acquisition and maintenance of the statue through the years. Eight still stand at veteran organization posts.
After a short period spent in Hackensack, NJ, Viquesney transferred his Doughboy rights to Walter Rylander, a younger friend and business associate in Americus, in January of 1922, and returned to Spencer from Americus by the end of the month. He reacquired the Doughboy rights in January of 1926. While over 30 Doughboys were placed while Rylander owned the rights, just four have been found with his name on the copyright plate (shown as being "copyrighted" by him – without mentioning a sculptor’s name), and one of those was dedicated in late 1926 after Viquesney had reacquired the rights. Rylander copyrights that have been located are at Bolivar and Sedalia, Missouri, St. Bernard, Ohio, and Muskogee, Oklahoma.
It’s frequently been speculated that Rylander was the Doughboy model. He and A. B. Turpin, also of Americus, are known to have been among those who posed for Viquesney in their war gear. Turpin’s 1966 Americus obituary stated he was "the" model, but Viquesney said the face was a composite of many he’d seen personally or in photographs. It’s been erroneously contended in several locations that some local person was the model for the local Doughboy.
Viquesney created a companion "Spirit of The American Navy" sculpture, of which seven are currently known to be standing – each with an accompanying Doughboy. They’re at Kingman, Arizona, Clearwater and Palatka, Florida, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Granite and Hobart, Oklahoma, and Crowell, Texas. Six are of metal and Crowell’s is of stone. Six portray a sailor standing on a dock by a rope-enwrapped stanchion. His left hand is near his waist as he waves his small round cap in his outstretched right hand at some offshore object. Palatka’s metal sailor appears to be standing on the deck of a ship, using both hands and arms to hold a large piece of naval ammunition across his waist and chest.
In June of 1921, Viquesney began producing a cast lead miniature 11-½" Doughboy, and by the following year a lamp version of the same size, with the bulb held in the upraised right hand and a shade clamped on the bulb. They were often used as prizes for fundraising drawings, and given to the person performing the unveiling – often a mother or close relative of a soldier killed in the war. Miniatures were also sold separately and many were manufactured by Walter Rylander. There were multiple sizes of miniatures and one, such as the first I saw, was of a copper or gold color and stood about two feet, including the pedestal. Several thousand miniature Doughboys were made. Miniatures were also made of Viquesney’s "Spirit of The American Navy" and some of his other sculptures.
The original Doughboy (first fabricated) was actually the second to be placed as a memorial. It was placed in Nashville, Georgia in July or August 1921 after having been entered in the Centralia, Washington competition mentioned earlier, and then displayed in the Rylander Theater and Windsor Hotel lobbies in Americus while Viquesney prepared others for dedication that year. While Nashville’s was the first fabricated and second placed as a memorial, its dedication/unveiling was delayed until the cost of it and its impressive tall pedestal was fully paid in late 1923. By that time about 25 others had been dedicated. (Issues of the Nashville Herald that would pinpoint the arrival and unveiling dates were apparently missing from Nashville’s Perry Memorial Library files when they were microfilmed. Some July 1921 issues indicate the arrival was imminent and later issues indicate the unveiling took place in late 1923.)
The first Doughboy placed as a memorial was dedicated on the campus of Greenville, South Carolina’s Furman University June 7, 1921. That Doughboy was donated to the History Museum of Upcountry South Carolina after it was replaced in 2004 by a cast replica made by artist/sculptor Maria J. Kirby-Smith. After the original Doughboy was placed at Nashville, Georgia later in the summer of 1921, Hartford City, Indiana’s Doughboy was dedicated September 28, 1921. Three were dedicated November 11, 1921, at Americus, Georgia, Anniston, Alabama, and Nashville, North Carolina, to bring the total placed in that first year of 1921 to six.
Doughboys continued to be erected until 1943, but the frequency declined in the 1930s as the depression set in and as the freshness wore off memories of the war. Viquesney’s last Doughboy was delivered to Verona, Pennsylvania in 1943.
Three Doughboys are known to have been destroyed and subsequently replaced by recreations using others as patterns. Liberty, Kentucky’s was hit by a truck in 1982 and replaced by Eleftherios Karkadoulias of Kakadoulias Bronze Art of Cincinnati. New Ulm, Minnesota’s was destroyed by vandalism in 1995 and replaced later that year by Innocast Execuline of Howard Lake, Minnesota. Jamestown, Kentucky's Doughboy was also hit by a truck and replaced with cast bronze copy in 2008 by the same company. A fourth Doughboy, in Appleton, Wisconsin, was nearly a complete loss when it was hit by an auto in 1986, but local restorers from Appleton Lamplighter and Appleton Marble and Granite put pieces that could be found back together, and fashioned replacements for the missing pieces. In January 2006 it underwent a complete restoration. Pieces or parts of several other Doughboys have been replaced as well.
Two Doughboys are now displayed indoors. The original at Greenville, South Carolina, mentioned above, and the other one, in Evansville, Indiana is now displayed indoors because of repeated problems with vandalism. Verona, Pennsylvania's Doughboy was once displayed inside their Borough Hall, then moved to an outdoor location, where it got toppled less than a year later. It is unknown whether it will be placed outside again or placed back inside the Borough Hall. At any point in time, some Doughboys might be temporarily indoors for restoration or some other reason.
Any report on the number of Doughboys requires some qualifying conditions: Some were destroyed and never replaced; some were destroyed and replaced; some are copies that were cast from molds taken from other existing Doughboys; and some that still exist have been withdrawn from public display. Viquesney commonly stated that there were "over 300" of his Doughboys placed all over the country, but the exact number of these "originals" will probably never be known; less than half that number are accounted for on this site.
Viquesney promoted Doughboy sales in many ways. Unfortunately, some promotional material contained questionable claims. Mr. Wesley, the long-time and widely known “Doughboy Searcher”from Spencer, Indiana said a degree of skepticism is warranted when information surfaces about things Viquesney said. He said Viquesney wasn’t dishonest, but apparently didn’t always feel a need to fully or carefully explain things, so people sometimes thought what he promised, promoted or described was, or would be, better than it actually was. While he was a very accomplished sculptor, he was prone to exaggerate matters related to his works.
Viquesney distributed brochures to civic and veteran organizations. Some mentioned that he had developed a program they could follow to raise funds needed to purchase Doughboys. He claimed that regardless of how small the organization or local community, the program had never failed where it had been followed. Brochures and advertisements contained coupons that could be mailed to him with a small payment to indicate an interest in purchasing a Doughboy. The fundraising program details and supplies were mailed to the potential buyer when the coupon was received, and the initial payment was deducted from the cost of the Doughboy when it was purchased. Brochures with those features might also have been distributed by Rylander during the time he owned the Doughboy rights.
The supplies Viquesney furnished purchasing organizations included a roughly three-feet by six-foot poster with a drawing of a Doughboy on a grid of approximately one-inch squares. Coupons for squares could be sold as entries in a drawing where miniature Doughboys were awarded as prizes. The price for individual squares could be set by reference to how much was needed to be raised after considering funds otherwise raised or available.
Viquesney’s promotional activities, and the fact that so many Doughboys were made, have been perceived negatively by some. The Doughboy’s been described as an unimportant "off the shelf" sculpture on at least one occasion, and its many replications was a factor in rejecting an application to have Ft. Atkinson, Wisconsin’s Doughboy in the National Register of Historic Places. (Those at Ft. Smith and Helena, Arkansas are in the National Register, though.) On another occasion, his miniatures were described as nothing more than "bric-a-brac" and he was referred to as a crass entrepreneur. While those are or were the opinions of some, Viquesney created a sculpture that stands in places of honor across the U. S. and is held in high regard, even reverence, by many people in those locations. While he didn’t receive the notice or credit some (including Viquesney himself) believe was warranted, many fully understand and appreciate his 1927 comment, "This statue, this child of my greatest and most sincere effort, is dedicated to you, to America, to the World…that he may be a constant reminder of all of what real Americanism is, what it does and how it safeguards our homes and our country".
The name, "Spirit of The American Doughboy" isn’t widely known, but "Doughboy" is used to refer it in nearly all locations. At some, it’s also often referred to by another local name. Scranton, Pennsylvania’s is often called the "Colonel Duffy Monument." It’s in Duffy Park, named for Major Frank J. Duffy, a well-known Scranton resident killed in the war. Logan, West Virginia’s is also called the "Pete C. Minotti Memorial," after a Logan contractor who was very instrumental in its acquisition. Roselle Park, New Jersey’s is affectionately called "Iron Mike." Many of those placed while Walter Rylander owned the Doughboy rights don’t have the proper name anywhere on the statue – even in the copyright plate, so few have been known by their proper name. St. Bernard, Ohio’s has been known as the "Soldier’s and Sailor’s Monument".
As early as the November 11, 1921 Americus, Georgia dedication, it was contended that some Doughboys were smaller than others. The Americus Times-Recorder reported Viquesney’s denial, saying it would be rather difficult to accomplish since it would require more sets of molds. He also said that the larger the pedestal, the smaller the Doughboy would appear to be, and that he’d tried to persuade the committee in Americus, the location of the initial contention, to use a smaller pedestal for that reason. While Viquesney’s stone Doughboys are about a foot shorter, he didn’t create that version until 1922.
While some reports have stated Viquesney's Doughboys are located at hundreds of courthouses across the country, just 35 are on courthouse grounds today. It’s believed that few others were ever similarly located since it hasn’t been common for them to be removed from courthouse locations once put there. Still, more Doughboys are located on courthouse grounds than any other commonly described site in their local communities. In that regard, it’s believed that during the 1920’s, counties could obtain $1,000.00 from the U. S. Government to help underwrite the cost of a World War memorial. That could help explain the number located on courthouse grounds and the fact that county governments often contributed funds to help acquire Doughboys placed at other sites. Other common sites include city or county squares, parks or common areas, cemeteries, prime intersections (either in or at them), and American Legion or VFW posts. Most are in or near principal local business areas.
Most Doughboy monuments, pedestals or bases have inscriptions/engravings that refer to the war as it was known at the time, including "World War," "Great War," "Great World War,", "War of Nations", and The War to End All Wars". Obviously, it wasn’t known as "World War I". It’s also described as the war "to save humanity", "to save liberty", "for freedom", etc. Many plaques or engravings added later mention World War II and/or other wars and conflicts. Dates used to refer to the war in inscriptions/engravings are usually 1917-1918, but some show dates as early as 1914 when the war started in Europe, and as late as 1919 or 1920. The U. S. formally entered the war April 6, 1917 and the armistice was effective November 11, 1918. The U. S. didn’t sign the Treaty of Versailles, but did sign treaties with some countries in 1919, the year that is on some Doughboys. The Oakley, Kansas plaque shows 1920 as the ending date for a reason that hasn’t been learned. Inscriptions/engravings on some pedestals refer to those honored as "boys", rather than "men", "soldiers" or "sailors", possibly because members of the Gold and Service Star Mothers and the American Legion and VFW auxiliaries heavily involved in obtaining many of them looked on the Doughboys as their "boys". Women, usually nurses, are mentioned in some inscriptions.Of those for which exact dedication dates are known, about 45% were dedicated on or about November 11 (Armistice/Veterans Day) and about 20% on or about Memorial Day.
Various prices were charged for the Doughboys over time. At first, they ranged from $1,000.00 to $1,500.00 plus freight, excluding the cost of pedestals and installation. By the latter part of the 1920s, prices had increased to the point that some were sold for roughly $1,700.00 to $2,000.00, plus freight. As the depression set in and memories of the war faded, prices fell dramatically. Appleton, Wisconsin’s cost just $700.00 in 1934, a severe depression year.
Palatka, Florida is the only single town district that has multiple original Viquesney Doughboys, although the greater Chicago area once had three, in Garfield Park (now at Soldier Field), Lincoln Park, and Naperville. Cincinnati, Ohio could be considered to have two, one in the suburb of Blue Ash and the other in Saint Bernard, although the one in Blue Ash is a modified copy by sculptor George F. Yostel, titled "Spirit of Our Heroes", which was made using Viquesney's original 1920 molds. Columbia, South Carolina has two, but one is a 2002 cast bronze copy made from an original at Clearwater, Florida. At Palatka, a Doughboy and Sailor were dedicated at the west end of the Memorial Bridge over the St. John’s River and two Doughboys (only one of which is a "Spirit of The American Doughboy") were dedicated at the east end November 11, 1927. In 1976, they were placed in the same positions relative to a new bridge. The two "Spirit" Doughboys have lost their rifles, and have been creatively "repaired": One Doughboy has a pistol in his left hand and the other has three sticks of dynamite. The sailor holds a naval artillery shell across his waist whereas sailors in other locations are waving their caps in their outstretched right hands. The third Doughboy, called the "Parade Rest" Doughboy in Palatka, is on the south side of the bridge’s east end. While no other identified Viquesney sculpture closely resembles it, there is a possibility that Viquesney did in fact create it.Many Doughboys have been moved within the towns where they are located, especially those originally placed in centers of streets or intersections in the 1920’s. They caused traffic problems, were hit by vehicles, and were moved. (Fort Benton, Montana’s Doughboy is the only one known to have been the site of a fatal automobile accident that actually involved the Doughboy.) The only Doughboys in the center of intersections today are at Helena, Arkansas, Jamestown and Monticello, Kentucky, and Lincoln, Maine.
Just three Doughboys are known to have been moved from one town to another. Kalispell, Montana’s, dedicated in 1928 was moved to Columbia Falls, Montana in 1972 because of traffic considerations. Hiawatha, Utah’s, dedicated in 1922 – the seventh dedicated anywhere and the first west of the Mississippi River – was moved to Price, Utah in 1989. A mining company had purchased all the land in Hiawatha and all structures were being removed. Price’s mayor knew of Hiawatha’s Doughboy and persuaded the new owners to donate it to Price. Hiawatha is essentially a ghost town today. It has recently been learned that the Doughboy at Markesan, Wisconsin was moved there in 1946 from a town that hasn’t been identified.
No awardee of a World War I Congressional Medal of Honor is known to have specifically been recognized in connection with a Doughboy monument. However, Muskogee, Oklahoma’s Doughboy was, among other things, erected at least partly in recognition of Private Joseph Oklahombi, a Choctaw code talker who was awarded France’s highest medal, the Croix de Guerre, by Marshal Petain himself. (The 16-18 code-talkers of the World War were Choctaw. The better known code-talkers of World War II were Navajo.) See Muskogee's Doughboy page for more information about Oklahombi’s citation. Two Doughboys, in Price, Utah and Herrin, Illinois, are accompanied by plaques to recognize World War II Congressional Medal of Honor awardees. See the Doughboy pages for Price and Herrin about them. A plaque on the Doughboy’s pedestal in Perth Amboy, New Jersey honors Robert "Arne" Arneson, who was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor at the outset of World War II. That Doughboy stands in Arneson Square.
The Doughboy in Veterans Memorial Park on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation at Bullhead, South Dakota was placed to recognize members of the Hunkpapa Band of the Standing Rock Sioux who gave their lives. The Muskogee, Oklahoma Doughboy recognizes those of the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole) who served in the war and, as mentioned earlier, Private Joseph Oklahombi, who was awarded the French Croix de Guerre. The Nashville, Georgia Doughboy (first Doughboy fabricated) stands on a tall pedestal with an honor roll of names of 25 area men, all Privates, lost when the troop ship Otranto sank off the coast of Scotland in October 1918 following a collision with the Kashmir in a storm. It also has an honor roll naming those from the county who died in the World War from other causes.
At Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri, first semester cadets must salute the Doughboy as they pass between designated points on a nearby sidewalk. The Wentworth Doughboy recently spent a period of time on display in the major national Liberty Memorial (the largest World War memorial in the U. S.) while restoration funds were being raised. It was rededicated October 2, 2004 during Wentworth’s annual homecoming. A pasteboard replica was temporarily placed on the pedestal for first semester cadets to salute during part of its absence. See the Lexington Doughboy page for more information about the rededication that was attended by, among many others, Les Kopel, several Viquesney family members, and myself, Earl Goldsmith.
Two Doughboys are known to have once existed but were either destroyed or stolen and never replaced. They were located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, and Omaha, Nebraska. A few others might have been destroyed and not replaced, but their previous locations haven’t been determined. A damaged Doughboy formerly located in Chicago’s Garfield Park was in storage for many years, but was recently restored by conservator Andrjev Dajnowski and dedicated inside the south entrance to Soldier Field September 29, 2003 as a part of the major renovation and rebuilding of that famous facility. Vandalism was not a significant problem during early Doughboy years when most were located in or near heavily traveled intersections or in lighted places where they were publicly visible. As time passed and they were moved to less publicly visible places, especially places less visible at night, vandalism increased.
Many Doughboys have suffered from lack of care and maintenance, with the most common problems being staining, corrosion and pitting. Many are missing parts, such as the bayonet, rifle barrel, or entire left hand and rifle, due to a weak fabrication point in the Doughboys’ fused sheets at the left wrist. It was fused to the arm at the cuff and has come loose or been pulled off in many locations. It is also quite common for the barbed wire to be missing, but it has been removed intentionally for safety reasons in some locations.Because of rifles being broken off as a result of people hanging or swinging from them, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin’s and one of Palatka, Florida’s two Doughboys now holds a pistol in its left hand. The other Palatka Doughboy holds three sticks of dynamite.
Other locations have tried other means to discourage physical contact. A bed of very thorny shrubs surrounds the Parsons, Kansas pedestal. The Ft. Smith, Arkansas pedestal has a heavy roll of razor-barbed wire around the feet - similar to that often seen at the top of fences. A tall extension was added to the Rock Springs, Wyoming pedestal. The restored Doughboy recently placed at Chicago’s Soldier Field is on a raised platform and inside a relatively high glass circle. In 1998, Frank Colson, a Sarasota, Florida sculptor, made molds from Clearwater, Florida’s Doughboy and cast a duplicate for display in Sarasota, where one had not previously been located. So, while the Sarasota Doughboy is not "by" Viquesney, it is a copy. It was cast however, rather than made of pressed thin metal sheets as described earlier.
In 2002, Colson again used molds made from the Clearwater Doughboy to cast another duplicate dedicated in Columbia, South Carolina, in a different part of town than where an earlier Doughboy, dedicated in 1930 in Columbia’s Pacific Mills community (now part of Olympia, South Carolina), is still standing.The Doughboy that’s now in the most public place is the one rededicated September 27, 2003 in a concourse near Gate O at the south entrance to Chicago’s newly restored and rebuilt Soldier Field. (Unfortunately, it takes a ticket to events there, to get to see it.) As has been mentioned, it was originally dedicated in Chicago’s Garfield Park in March 1926. It was severely damaged in the 1960s and placed in storage for preservation by the Chicago Park District. After many years, it was restored by conservator Andrzej Dajnowski for rededication at Soldier Field.
A trait that’s been noticed about people whose towns have Viquesney Doughboys is that they often call the one in their town "our" or "my," rather than "the" Doughboy. Mr. Wesley pointed this out in our very first conversation, after I called the Henryetta, Oklahoma Doughboy "our" or "my" Doughboy a few times. As I’ve pursued information and discussed Doughboys with people all around the country, they’ve confirmed the trait many times.
Toward the end of his time living in Americus, Georgia, in 1920 Viquesney created his Doughboy in response to a national interest to honor those who died, were wounded, or served in the World War. He said he started thinking about creating a sculpture and what it should depict, as well as making preliminary sketches, during the war. (While the war was still in process, Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of War, Newton Baker, encouraged communities across the nation to erect memorial or monuments to honor the Doughboys, and that may have contributed to Viquesney’s initial thought on that line.) While he wanted to depict an American soldier in battle, he didn’t want to depict excessive might or power by portraying a soldier charging or running forward. Instead, he wanted to depict the "spirit" of the American Doughboy's determination to preserve freedom for their country and mankind. So he portrayed a Doughboy striding firmly forward in an erect posture through "no man’s land."
One of the most readily recognizable features of "Spirit of The American Doughboy" is his upwardly extended right arm with a grenade in the upraised hand. The other is the two stumps at his right front and left rear. His left arm extends downward and his left hand holds a bayoneted 1903 Springfield rifle, pointed forward at about thigh height. He wears a flat steel helmet, trousers bloused above the knee, and puttees (wrapped leggings) below the knees, all of the type worn by Doughboys in World War I. He wears a rectangular bedroll backpack with a bayonet scabbard on the side, a square gas mask pouch on his chest, a cartridge belt, canteen, mess kit, and first aid kit. Since he’s striding, rather than running or charging, his leading left leg is straight. His right leg is bent and, while the right heel is raised, the right sole is on the "ground." Barbed wire was originally strung loosely around his feet and the stumps, but it’s been removed for safety reasons from some Doughboys and is missing from others for other reasons.
The most replicated version of the Doughboy is of pressed copper or bronze alloy sheets (left photo above) formed by machine die-stamping more than 75 separate pieces which were then welded together over an internal metal frame. The Doughboy is hollow and weighs only about 200 pounds, except in locations where cement or some other substance has been put in the legs or lower body to lower its center of gravity and add stability – a matter that’s been regretted in some instances. In addition to being much lighter than a cast Doughboy would be, he was only about 20% as costly as a cast sculpture would have been at the time, which might help explain why so many were placed across the country in the 1920s and 1930s. It's now known that at least three, and very likely more of these pressed sheet metal Doughboys were fabricated by the Friedley-Voshardt Company of Chicago, Illinois.
Viquesney made several revisions and obtained a new copyright on his Doughboy in 1934 (second from left photo above). At this time, he also switched from pressed copper or bronze sheets to cast zinc (often copper-plated to make the statue look like bronze). The most noticeable differences are that the knee-high stumps of the 1920 version are significantly shorter on the 1934 version, which also has "SPIRIT OF THE AMERICAN DOUGHBOY" embossed across the front of the base. The only title on the 1920 version (if it's present) is found on the small copyright plate on the base below the proper right foot. The copyright plate on the 1934 version is on the rear of the base. A minor difference is that the mouth on the 1920 version is open to the extent that crooked upper teeth are visible, while the teeth are not visible on the earliest 1934 models (in 1935 and later, the mouth is thinner, and the teeth show faintly). Additionally, the inside of the raised right heel touches the side of the rear stump on the 1920 version. It is raised, but not as high, on the 1934 version, and is separated from the stump. A sample of business correspondence obtained from the Smithsonian Institution indicates that Viquesney's zinc Doughboys were fabricated by Raphael Groppi Studio of Chicago, Illinois.
Viquesney also created a stone Doughboy of marble, in possibly two versions (two right photos, above). The principal visual difference from metal Doughboys is that stone Doughboys don’t have the two stumps. Instead, they have a hip-high tree trunk adjoining the figure at the left rear. While the stone Doughboy with full battle gear was copyrighted in 1922, the first ones known to have been placed as memorials were dedicated in 1930 in Madison, Georgia and Parsons, Kansas. The only other copyright 1922 stone Doughboy known to have been created was placed in Madison, West Virginia in 1938.
With respect to stone Doughboys, five unsigned, untitled, and uncopyrighted stone Doughboys are located in Eufaula and Headland, Alabama, Troy, North Carolina, Clarksville, Tennessee, and Texarkana, Texas (the last, if it's really a Viquesney Doughboy, is the only known private memorial). They’re all quite similar to Viquesney’s 1922 copyrighted stone design, in that they have the upraised right hand with a grenade, the more or less horizontally held rifle in the left hand, and the large rear tree trunk, as well as the cartridge belt and puttees. But they don’t have the field pack, gas mask pouch, or canteen. A recent match-up in records shows that the known Viquesney stone Doughboy in Madison, Georgia and the unmarked stone Doughboy in Clarksville, Tennessee were both made and sold by McNeel Marble Company of Marietta, Georgia. This could be a "smoking gun" that connects Viquesney to these previously unidentified statues, or it could simply mean that McNeel was producing its own knock-offs and passing them off as Viquesney's work, while at the same time also producing the genuine article whenever an order came in from Viquesney himself. Evidence for this less-than-honest type of business dealing by McNeel was revealed when it was discovered that these stone Doughboys, advertised as carved from "pure Italian marble" by artisans in Italy, were found to be made of local Georgia or Alabama marble, but the purchasers were charged for the former. To add insult to injury, customers were forced to wait up to six months for the supposed carving in "Italy" to be completed, then likely charged a hefty "overseas" shipping fee in addition to paying an inflated price for a statue made of local stone.
Also of note is the installation date of the Eufaula, Alabama Doughboy, reported on various websites to be 1920. If true, that would make it the earliest known installation of a Viquesney Doughboy, if indeed it really is one. But Viquesney's first statue with the actual title "Spirit of the American Doughboy" wasn't made public until early 1921, although he had been working on his design since at least 1918, and had a clay mock-up ready by 1919. Did McNeel get wind of Viquesney's design and come out with their own statue before he did, or was this version without the battle gear just an early Viquesney design? Nobody really knows.
Even Viquesney's genuine signed stone Doughboys, also advertised as Italian marble, were made of the same local stone from McNeel. Did the artist know? Almost certainly. His original trade was as a stonecarver; he would absolutely have known the difference between local stone and genuine Italian marble. Unfortunately, Viquesney's sales methods were not always quite "on the up and up".
Viquesney said he devoted a lot of effort to studying battle gear worn by the Doughboys, and that some veterans posed for him in field uniforms and gear and that he viewed many photographs. That statement is supported by the fact that in a letter he received in the Spring of 1921, his Doughboy was judged in a Centralia, Washington national competition of World War memorial sculptures to be a "100% perfect" representation of equipment and gear Doughboys wore. It was also reported that Viquesney’s Doughboy was selected to "grace" a Centralia monument endorsed by the American Legion as its official World War memorial. Indeed, in the letter mentioned above, the last sentence stated quite explicitly, "This will be the one design adopted by the American Legion as its National Memorial".
But the Doughboy statue, "The Sentinel", that stands in Centralia today is by another sculptor, Alonzo Victor Lewis. What happened? No one knows. Lewis' statue was unveiled in Centralia on Armistice Day, 1924, and the National American Legion subsequently denied it had ever endorsed “The Spirit of the American Doughboy. On the other hand, the Legion magazine routinely carried advertisements for Viquesney's Doughboy, letting pass such claims as "Authenticated by the American Legion", or "Remember there is only one endorsed statue...". But actually the Doughboy was enthusiastically endorsed by many Legion, VFW and other veteran organization posts active in their acquisition and maintenance of the statue through the years. Eight still stand at veteran organization posts.
After a short period spent in Hackensack, NJ, Viquesney transferred his Doughboy rights to Walter Rylander, a younger friend and business associate in Americus, in January of 1922, and returned to Spencer from Americus by the end of the month. He reacquired the Doughboy rights in January of 1926. While over 30 Doughboys were placed while Rylander owned the rights, just four have been found with his name on the copyright plate (shown as being "copyrighted" by him – without mentioning a sculptor’s name), and one of those was dedicated in late 1926 after Viquesney had reacquired the rights. Rylander copyrights that have been located are at Bolivar and Sedalia, Missouri, St. Bernard, Ohio, and Muskogee, Oklahoma.
It’s frequently been speculated that Rylander was the Doughboy model. He and A. B. Turpin, also of Americus, are known to have been among those who posed for Viquesney in their war gear. Turpin’s 1966 Americus obituary stated he was "the" model, but Viquesney said the face was a composite of many he’d seen personally or in photographs. It’s been erroneously contended in several locations that some local person was the model for the local Doughboy.
Viquesney created a companion "Spirit of The American Navy" sculpture, of which seven are currently known to be standing – each with an accompanying Doughboy. They’re at Kingman, Arizona, Clearwater and Palatka, Florida, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Granite and Hobart, Oklahoma, and Crowell, Texas. Six are of metal and Crowell’s is of stone. Six portray a sailor standing on a dock by a rope-enwrapped stanchion. His left hand is near his waist as he waves his small round cap in his outstretched right hand at some offshore object. Palatka’s metal sailor appears to be standing on the deck of a ship, using both hands and arms to hold a large piece of naval ammunition across his waist and chest.
In June of 1921, Viquesney began producing a cast lead miniature 11-½" Doughboy, and by the following year a lamp version of the same size, with the bulb held in the upraised right hand and a shade clamped on the bulb. They were often used as prizes for fundraising drawings, and given to the person performing the unveiling – often a mother or close relative of a soldier killed in the war. Miniatures were also sold separately and many were manufactured by Walter Rylander. There were multiple sizes of miniatures and one, such as the first I saw, was of a copper or gold color and stood about two feet, including the pedestal. Several thousand miniature Doughboys were made. Miniatures were also made of Viquesney’s "Spirit of The American Navy" and some of his other sculptures.
The original Doughboy (first fabricated) was actually the second to be placed as a memorial. It was placed in Nashville, Georgia in July or August 1921 after having been entered in the Centralia, Washington competition mentioned earlier, and then displayed in the Rylander Theater and Windsor Hotel lobbies in Americus while Viquesney prepared others for dedication that year. While Nashville’s was the first fabricated and second placed as a memorial, its dedication/unveiling was delayed until the cost of it and its impressive tall pedestal was fully paid in late 1923. By that time about 25 others had been dedicated. (Issues of the Nashville Herald that would pinpoint the arrival and unveiling dates were apparently missing from Nashville’s Perry Memorial Library files when they were microfilmed. Some July 1921 issues indicate the arrival was imminent and later issues indicate the unveiling took place in late 1923.)
The first Doughboy placed as a memorial was dedicated on the campus of Greenville, South Carolina’s Furman University June 7, 1921. That Doughboy was donated to the History Museum of Upcountry South Carolina after it was replaced in 2004 by a cast replica made by artist/sculptor Maria J. Kirby-Smith. After the original Doughboy was placed at Nashville, Georgia later in the summer of 1921, Hartford City, Indiana’s Doughboy was dedicated September 28, 1921. Three were dedicated November 11, 1921, at Americus, Georgia, Anniston, Alabama, and Nashville, North Carolina, to bring the total placed in that first year of 1921 to six.
Doughboys continued to be erected until 1943, but the frequency declined in the 1930s as the depression set in and as the freshness wore off memories of the war. Viquesney’s last Doughboy was delivered to Verona, Pennsylvania in 1943.
Three Doughboys are known to have been destroyed and subsequently replaced by recreations using others as patterns. Liberty, Kentucky’s was hit by a truck in 1982 and replaced by Eleftherios Karkadoulias of Kakadoulias Bronze Art of Cincinnati. New Ulm, Minnesota’s was destroyed by vandalism in 1995 and replaced later that year by Innocast Execuline of Howard Lake, Minnesota. Jamestown, Kentucky's Doughboy was also hit by a truck and replaced with cast bronze copy in 2008 by the same company. A fourth Doughboy, in Appleton, Wisconsin, was nearly a complete loss when it was hit by an auto in 1986, but local restorers from Appleton Lamplighter and Appleton Marble and Granite put pieces that could be found back together, and fashioned replacements for the missing pieces. In January 2006 it underwent a complete restoration. Pieces or parts of several other Doughboys have been replaced as well.
Two Doughboys are now displayed indoors. The original at Greenville, South Carolina, mentioned above, and the other one, in Evansville, Indiana is now displayed indoors because of repeated problems with vandalism. Verona, Pennsylvania's Doughboy was once displayed inside their Borough Hall, then moved to an outdoor location, where it got toppled less than a year later. It is unknown whether it will be placed outside again or placed back inside the Borough Hall. At any point in time, some Doughboys might be temporarily indoors for restoration or some other reason.
Any report on the number of Doughboys requires some qualifying conditions: Some were destroyed and never replaced; some were destroyed and replaced; some are copies that were cast from molds taken from other existing Doughboys; and some that still exist have been withdrawn from public display. Viquesney commonly stated that there were "over 300" of his Doughboys placed all over the country, but the exact number of these "originals" will probably never be known; less than half that number are accounted for on this site.
Viquesney promoted Doughboy sales in many ways. Unfortunately, some promotional material contained questionable claims. Mr. Wesley, the long-time and widely known “Doughboy Searcher”from Spencer, Indiana said a degree of skepticism is warranted when information surfaces about things Viquesney said. He said Viquesney wasn’t dishonest, but apparently didn’t always feel a need to fully or carefully explain things, so people sometimes thought what he promised, promoted or described was, or would be, better than it actually was. While he was a very accomplished sculptor, he was prone to exaggerate matters related to his works.
Viquesney distributed brochures to civic and veteran organizations. Some mentioned that he had developed a program they could follow to raise funds needed to purchase Doughboys. He claimed that regardless of how small the organization or local community, the program had never failed where it had been followed. Brochures and advertisements contained coupons that could be mailed to him with a small payment to indicate an interest in purchasing a Doughboy. The fundraising program details and supplies were mailed to the potential buyer when the coupon was received, and the initial payment was deducted from the cost of the Doughboy when it was purchased. Brochures with those features might also have been distributed by Rylander during the time he owned the Doughboy rights.
The supplies Viquesney furnished purchasing organizations included a roughly three-feet by six-foot poster with a drawing of a Doughboy on a grid of approximately one-inch squares. Coupons for squares could be sold as entries in a drawing where miniature Doughboys were awarded as prizes. The price for individual squares could be set by reference to how much was needed to be raised after considering funds otherwise raised or available.
Viquesney’s promotional activities, and the fact that so many Doughboys were made, have been perceived negatively by some. The Doughboy’s been described as an unimportant "off the shelf" sculpture on at least one occasion, and its many replications was a factor in rejecting an application to have Ft. Atkinson, Wisconsin’s Doughboy in the National Register of Historic Places. (Those at Ft. Smith and Helena, Arkansas are in the National Register, though.) On another occasion, his miniatures were described as nothing more than "bric-a-brac" and he was referred to as a crass entrepreneur. While those are or were the opinions of some, Viquesney created a sculpture that stands in places of honor across the U. S. and is held in high regard, even reverence, by many people in those locations. While he didn’t receive the notice or credit some (including Viquesney himself) believe was warranted, many fully understand and appreciate his 1927 comment, "This statue, this child of my greatest and most sincere effort, is dedicated to you, to America, to the World…that he may be a constant reminder of all of what real Americanism is, what it does and how it safeguards our homes and our country".
The name, "Spirit of The American Doughboy" isn’t widely known, but "Doughboy" is used to refer it in nearly all locations. At some, it’s also often referred to by another local name. Scranton, Pennsylvania’s is often called the "Colonel Duffy Monument." It’s in Duffy Park, named for Major Frank J. Duffy, a well-known Scranton resident killed in the war. Logan, West Virginia’s is also called the "Pete C. Minotti Memorial," after a Logan contractor who was very instrumental in its acquisition. Roselle Park, New Jersey’s is affectionately called "Iron Mike." Many of those placed while Walter Rylander owned the Doughboy rights don’t have the proper name anywhere on the statue – even in the copyright plate, so few have been known by their proper name. St. Bernard, Ohio’s has been known as the "Soldier’s and Sailor’s Monument".
As early as the November 11, 1921 Americus, Georgia dedication, it was contended that some Doughboys were smaller than others. The Americus Times-Recorder reported Viquesney’s denial, saying it would be rather difficult to accomplish since it would require more sets of molds. He also said that the larger the pedestal, the smaller the Doughboy would appear to be, and that he’d tried to persuade the committee in Americus, the location of the initial contention, to use a smaller pedestal for that reason. While Viquesney’s stone Doughboys are about a foot shorter, he didn’t create that version until 1922.
While some reports have stated Viquesney's Doughboys are located at hundreds of courthouses across the country, just 35 are on courthouse grounds today. It’s believed that few others were ever similarly located since it hasn’t been common for them to be removed from courthouse locations once put there. Still, more Doughboys are located on courthouse grounds than any other commonly described site in their local communities. In that regard, it’s believed that during the 1920’s, counties could obtain $1,000.00 from the U. S. Government to help underwrite the cost of a World War memorial. That could help explain the number located on courthouse grounds and the fact that county governments often contributed funds to help acquire Doughboys placed at other sites. Other common sites include city or county squares, parks or common areas, cemeteries, prime intersections (either in or at them), and American Legion or VFW posts. Most are in or near principal local business areas.
Most Doughboy monuments, pedestals or bases have inscriptions/engravings that refer to the war as it was known at the time, including "World War," "Great War," "Great World War,", "War of Nations", and The War to End All Wars". Obviously, it wasn’t known as "World War I". It’s also described as the war "to save humanity", "to save liberty", "for freedom", etc. Many plaques or engravings added later mention World War II and/or other wars and conflicts. Dates used to refer to the war in inscriptions/engravings are usually 1917-1918, but some show dates as early as 1914 when the war started in Europe, and as late as 1919 or 1920. The U. S. formally entered the war April 6, 1917 and the armistice was effective November 11, 1918. The U. S. didn’t sign the Treaty of Versailles, but did sign treaties with some countries in 1919, the year that is on some Doughboys. The Oakley, Kansas plaque shows 1920 as the ending date for a reason that hasn’t been learned. Inscriptions/engravings on some pedestals refer to those honored as "boys", rather than "men", "soldiers" or "sailors", possibly because members of the Gold and Service Star Mothers and the American Legion and VFW auxiliaries heavily involved in obtaining many of them looked on the Doughboys as their "boys". Women, usually nurses, are mentioned in some inscriptions.Of those for which exact dedication dates are known, about 45% were dedicated on or about November 11 (Armistice/Veterans Day) and about 20% on or about Memorial Day.
Various prices were charged for the Doughboys over time. At first, they ranged from $1,000.00 to $1,500.00 plus freight, excluding the cost of pedestals and installation. By the latter part of the 1920s, prices had increased to the point that some were sold for roughly $1,700.00 to $2,000.00, plus freight. As the depression set in and memories of the war faded, prices fell dramatically. Appleton, Wisconsin’s cost just $700.00 in 1934, a severe depression year.
Palatka, Florida is the only single town district that has multiple original Viquesney Doughboys, although the greater Chicago area once had three, in Garfield Park (now at Soldier Field), Lincoln Park, and Naperville. Cincinnati, Ohio could be considered to have two, one in the suburb of Blue Ash and the other in Saint Bernard, although the one in Blue Ash is a modified copy by sculptor George F. Yostel, titled "Spirit of Our Heroes", which was made using Viquesney's original 1920 molds. Columbia, South Carolina has two, but one is a 2002 cast bronze copy made from an original at Clearwater, Florida. At Palatka, a Doughboy and Sailor were dedicated at the west end of the Memorial Bridge over the St. John’s River and two Doughboys (only one of which is a "Spirit of The American Doughboy") were dedicated at the east end November 11, 1927. In 1976, they were placed in the same positions relative to a new bridge. The two "Spirit" Doughboys have lost their rifles, and have been creatively "repaired": One Doughboy has a pistol in his left hand and the other has three sticks of dynamite. The sailor holds a naval artillery shell across his waist whereas sailors in other locations are waving their caps in their outstretched right hands. The third Doughboy, called the "Parade Rest" Doughboy in Palatka, is on the south side of the bridge’s east end. While no other identified Viquesney sculpture closely resembles it, there is a possibility that Viquesney did in fact create it.Many Doughboys have been moved within the towns where they are located, especially those originally placed in centers of streets or intersections in the 1920’s. They caused traffic problems, were hit by vehicles, and were moved. (Fort Benton, Montana’s Doughboy is the only one known to have been the site of a fatal automobile accident that actually involved the Doughboy.) The only Doughboys in the center of intersections today are at Helena, Arkansas, Jamestown and Monticello, Kentucky, and Lincoln, Maine.
Just three Doughboys are known to have been moved from one town to another. Kalispell, Montana’s, dedicated in 1928 was moved to Columbia Falls, Montana in 1972 because of traffic considerations. Hiawatha, Utah’s, dedicated in 1922 – the seventh dedicated anywhere and the first west of the Mississippi River – was moved to Price, Utah in 1989. A mining company had purchased all the land in Hiawatha and all structures were being removed. Price’s mayor knew of Hiawatha’s Doughboy and persuaded the new owners to donate it to Price. Hiawatha is essentially a ghost town today. It has recently been learned that the Doughboy at Markesan, Wisconsin was moved there in 1946 from a town that hasn’t been identified.
No awardee of a World War I Congressional Medal of Honor is known to have specifically been recognized in connection with a Doughboy monument. However, Muskogee, Oklahoma’s Doughboy was, among other things, erected at least partly in recognition of Private Joseph Oklahombi, a Choctaw code talker who was awarded France’s highest medal, the Croix de Guerre, by Marshal Petain himself. (The 16-18 code-talkers of the World War were Choctaw. The better known code-talkers of World War II were Navajo.) See Muskogee's Doughboy page for more information about Oklahombi’s citation. Two Doughboys, in Price, Utah and Herrin, Illinois, are accompanied by plaques to recognize World War II Congressional Medal of Honor awardees. See the Doughboy pages for Price and Herrin about them. A plaque on the Doughboy’s pedestal in Perth Amboy, New Jersey honors Robert "Arne" Arneson, who was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor at the outset of World War II. That Doughboy stands in Arneson Square.
The Doughboy in Veterans Memorial Park on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation at Bullhead, South Dakota was placed to recognize members of the Hunkpapa Band of the Standing Rock Sioux who gave their lives. The Muskogee, Oklahoma Doughboy recognizes those of the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole) who served in the war and, as mentioned earlier, Private Joseph Oklahombi, who was awarded the French Croix de Guerre. The Nashville, Georgia Doughboy (first Doughboy fabricated) stands on a tall pedestal with an honor roll of names of 25 area men, all Privates, lost when the troop ship Otranto sank off the coast of Scotland in October 1918 following a collision with the Kashmir in a storm. It also has an honor roll naming those from the county who died in the World War from other causes.
At Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri, first semester cadets must salute the Doughboy as they pass between designated points on a nearby sidewalk. The Wentworth Doughboy recently spent a period of time on display in the major national Liberty Memorial (the largest World War memorial in the U. S.) while restoration funds were being raised. It was rededicated October 2, 2004 during Wentworth’s annual homecoming. A pasteboard replica was temporarily placed on the pedestal for first semester cadets to salute during part of its absence. See the Lexington Doughboy page for more information about the rededication that was attended by, among many others, Les Kopel, several Viquesney family members, and myself, Earl Goldsmith.
Two Doughboys are known to have once existed but were either destroyed or stolen and never replaced. They were located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, and Omaha, Nebraska. A few others might have been destroyed and not replaced, but their previous locations haven’t been determined. A damaged Doughboy formerly located in Chicago’s Garfield Park was in storage for many years, but was recently restored by conservator Andrjev Dajnowski and dedicated inside the south entrance to Soldier Field September 29, 2003 as a part of the major renovation and rebuilding of that famous facility. Vandalism was not a significant problem during early Doughboy years when most were located in or near heavily traveled intersections or in lighted places where they were publicly visible. As time passed and they were moved to less publicly visible places, especially places less visible at night, vandalism increased.
Many Doughboys have suffered from lack of care and maintenance, with the most common problems being staining, corrosion and pitting. Many are missing parts, such as the bayonet, rifle barrel, or entire left hand and rifle, due to a weak fabrication point in the Doughboys’ fused sheets at the left wrist. It was fused to the arm at the cuff and has come loose or been pulled off in many locations. It is also quite common for the barbed wire to be missing, but it has been removed intentionally for safety reasons in some locations.Because of rifles being broken off as a result of people hanging or swinging from them, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin’s and one of Palatka, Florida’s two Doughboys now holds a pistol in its left hand. The other Palatka Doughboy holds three sticks of dynamite.
Other locations have tried other means to discourage physical contact. A bed of very thorny shrubs surrounds the Parsons, Kansas pedestal. The Ft. Smith, Arkansas pedestal has a heavy roll of razor-barbed wire around the feet - similar to that often seen at the top of fences. A tall extension was added to the Rock Springs, Wyoming pedestal. The restored Doughboy recently placed at Chicago’s Soldier Field is on a raised platform and inside a relatively high glass circle. In 1998, Frank Colson, a Sarasota, Florida sculptor, made molds from Clearwater, Florida’s Doughboy and cast a duplicate for display in Sarasota, where one had not previously been located. So, while the Sarasota Doughboy is not "by" Viquesney, it is a copy. It was cast however, rather than made of pressed thin metal sheets as described earlier.
In 2002, Colson again used molds made from the Clearwater Doughboy to cast another duplicate dedicated in Columbia, South Carolina, in a different part of town than where an earlier Doughboy, dedicated in 1930 in Columbia’s Pacific Mills community (now part of Olympia, South Carolina), is still standing.The Doughboy that’s now in the most public place is the one rededicated September 27, 2003 in a concourse near Gate O at the south entrance to Chicago’s newly restored and rebuilt Soldier Field. (Unfortunately, it takes a ticket to events there, to get to see it.) As has been mentioned, it was originally dedicated in Chicago’s Garfield Park in March 1926. It was severely damaged in the 1960s and placed in storage for preservation by the Chicago Park District. After many years, it was restored by conservator Andrzej Dajnowski for rededication at Soldier Field.
A trait that’s been noticed about people whose towns have Viquesney Doughboys is that they often call the one in their town "our" or "my," rather than "the" Doughboy. Mr. Wesley pointed this out in our very first conversation, after I called the Henryetta, Oklahoma Doughboy "our" or "my" Doughboy a few times. As I’ve pursued information and discussed Doughboys with people all around the country, they’ve confirmed the trait many times.
