The E. M. Viquesney "Spirit of the American Doughboy" Database
Photo provided by Trion resident Roland Nunn.
TRION (SUMMERVILLE), GEORGIA
N 34° 30.8443 / W 85° 19.9442
Copyright version 1920, pressed copper.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: 47260016.
Copyright version 1920, pressed copper.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: 47260016.
At VFW-American Legion Chattooga County Memorial Home on Memorial Drive, about halfway between Trion and Summerville (exit Highway 27 at Back Penn Road, go west, then south at intersection with Memorial Drive). There is a loop on Memorial Drive encircling the Memorial Home grounds; the statue is on the east (left, as you travel south) side of the loop.
The engraving on the front of the monument reads:
IN MEMORIAM
WORLD WAR VETERANS
OF CHATOOGA [sic] COUNTY
GEORGIA
ERECTED 1934
BY CITIZENS AND FRIENDS
OF CHATOOGA [sic] COUNTY
FOSTERED BY
THE TRION COMPANY
IN MEMORIAM
WORLD WAR VETERANS
OF CHATOOGA [sic] COUNTY
GEORGIA
ERECTED 1934
BY CITIZENS AND FRIENDS
OF CHATOOGA [sic] COUNTY
FOSTERED BY
THE TRION COMPANY
(followed by names of three officers of Trion Company,
a textile miller and manufacturer.)
Four metal plaques list the names of 475 veterans on the two sides of the base.
a textile miller and manufacturer.)
Four metal plaques list the names of 475 veterans on the two sides of the base.
The Doughboy was dedicated April 21, 1934 at the West end of Plaza Park in front of the Trion Company cotton mill and was moved about 50 feet to the center of a concrete circle in 1961. A 1989 mill expansion made relocation necessary again but the Town of Trion officials declined an offer to have it moved to a location in front of the new Town Hall, evidently because the they didn’t want to pay the moving costs. It was rededicated at its current location in November 1989. It has been cleaned or treated several times, but is again in need of treatment. The bayonet and rifle sling are missing, and there is corrosion at the left cuff that will likely cause the left hand, and rifle to be dislodged at some point.
