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 Earl Goldsmith's grandchildren Kyle and Courtney Babbitt. Photo: Sherri Trammell. |
NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS
N 29° 42.186 / W 098° 07.473
Copyright version 1934, cast zinc.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: TX000169.
Copyright version 1934, cast zinc.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: TX000169.
At main downtown intersection of Seguin and San Antonio in circular “Court of Honor” plaza.
The engraving on the pedestal reads:
DEDICATED NOVEMBER 11, 1937
TO
WORLD WAR VETERANS
OF
COMAL COUNTY
1917 – 1918
DONATED BY MR. & MRS. E. A. CLOUSNITZER
DEDICATED NOVEMBER 11, 1937
TO
WORLD WAR VETERANS
OF
COMAL COUNTY
1917 – 1918
DONATED BY MR. & MRS. E. A. CLOUSNITZER
There is a memorial walk with names engraved on the bricks.
The sculpture is painted a silver color but there is some color variation where treatment has been applied to the metal seams. On the whole, it is in good condition, considering the fact it was heavily damaged by a drunk driver in 1986 and repaired by Washington University Technology Associates, Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri. During the repairs, it was found that the statue had been standing atop an old 1905 tombstone inside the base. It wasn't a gravesite; the tombstone was probably a reject that had been used for fill inside the base.
New Braunfels, like New Ulm, Minnesota, the site of an identical Viquesney Doughboy, is heavily populated by persons of German ancestry, and there are strong feelings for that heritage in both communities. The existence of Viquesney Doughboys in both communities evidences the additional strong feelings for persons from those areas who served in the World War.
New Braunfels, like New Ulm, Minnesota, the site of an identical Viquesney Doughboy, is heavily populated by persons of German ancestry, and there are strong feelings for that heritage in both communities. The existence of Viquesney Doughboys in both communities evidences the additional strong feelings for persons from those areas who served in the World War.
Update October 27, 2024: A suspected drunk driver ran into the statue and damaged it.
