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BEAVER, UTAH
38.2729005,-112.6413046
Copyright version 1920, sheet bronze.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: UT000176.
Copyright version 1920, sheet bronze.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: UT000176.
Formerly on the U. S. Post Office lawn at the Southwest corner of Main and Center Streets, now a block south, near the Utah National Guard Armory at 120 South Main Street.
The inscription on the plaque on the front of the base reads:
THIS MONUMENT
ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF BEAVER COUNTY
TO HONOR THE MEN FROM THIS COUNTY
WHO SERVED THEIR COUNTRY
DURING THE WORLD WAR
---------
THE FUNDS WERE CONTRIBUTED
BY
BEAVER COUNTY
AND
POPULAR SUBSCRIPTION
-----------------
IN THE LIST OF NAMES
ON THESE TABLETS
THOSE WHO DIED
IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY
ARE DESIGNATED BY A STAR
----------------
THIS MONUMENT SPONSORED
BY
BEAVER POST NUMBER THIRTY-TWO
OF THE AMERICAN LEGION
-------------------
MONUMENT DEDICATED MEMORIAL DAY 1927
AND
THE BRONZE TABLETS MAY 30, 1929
-----------------
THIS MONUMENT
ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF BEAVER COUNTY
TO HONOR THE MEN FROM THIS COUNTY
WHO SERVED THEIR COUNTRY
DURING THE WORLD WAR
---------
THE FUNDS WERE CONTRIBUTED
BY
BEAVER COUNTY
AND
POPULAR SUBSCRIPTION
-----------------
IN THE LIST OF NAMES
ON THESE TABLETS
THOSE WHO DIED
IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY
ARE DESIGNATED BY A STAR
----------------
THIS MONUMENT SPONSORED
BY
BEAVER POST NUMBER THIRTY-TWO
OF THE AMERICAN LEGION
-------------------
MONUMENT DEDICATED MEMORIAL DAY 1927
AND
THE BRONZE TABLETS MAY 30, 1929
-----------------
Tablets on the sides and back of the base have honor roll lists of names. A nearby memorial on the other side of the Post Office lawn honors, by name, all those from Beaver who died in World War I and World War II.
Although the bayonet is missing, the sculpture is coated in a protective layer of gray paint and appeared to be in excellent condition when I visited in 2004 when the above photos were taken. However, a second visit in July, 2010 revealed paint erosion along the seams in the legs and tree stumps.
* * *
The photo at left, provided by Joan Beal, Beaver Public Library, shows the monument before both the badly cracked base and the sculpture were restored.
Below: The Doughboy was moved a block south of its former location to the new Veterans Memorial Park next to the Utah National Guard Armory at 120 South Main Street. The new park and the statue were dedicated on May 26, 2014.
The Doughboy stands at its new location in Memorial Park. Photo: Kit Chuhhawong, Rider 85, 2014 Tour of Honor.
