Photo: Provided by Ann Curtis, Payette Museum.
PAYETTE, IDAHO
N 44° 04.693 / W 116° 56.106
Copyright version 1920, sheet bronze.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: ID000088.
Copyright version 1920, sheet bronze.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: ID000088.
In the very small "Freedom Won" Park area near the intersection of 3rd Avenue and North 8th Street.
The inscription under the doughboy image on the plaque reads:
THAT THE MEMORY
OF THE BOYS WHO
GAVE THEIR LIVES
AND THEIR SERVICES
IN THE DEFENSE OF
THEIR COUNTRY
AND TO PERPETUATE
ITS IDEALS SHALL
LIVE AS AN INSPIRA-
TION TO COURAGE
AND PATRIOTISM
THAT THE MEMORY
OF THE BOYS WHO
GAVE THEIR LIVES
AND THEIR SERVICES
IN THE DEFENSE OF
THEIR COUNTRY
AND TO PERPETUATE
ITS IDEALS SHALL
LIVE AS AN INSPIRA-
TION TO COURAGE
AND PATRIOTISM
The Doughboy at its original location.
|
The Doughboy was donated by Brigadier General L. V. Patch, who had a small part in the May 30, 1923 dedication ceremony in the intersection of Eighth Street and Center Street. It had been shipped to Boise and transported by truck to Payette, where it arrived early on April 26. It was immediately put on the pedestal and veiled until its May 30 dedication in a ceremony with Idaho Senator William Borah as the principal speaker. It was moved to the City Park in 1931. Then, it was moved February 27, 1981 to stand near a flagpole that had been dedicated by Senator James McClure and May Dick Butcher at the north end of Main Street on May 13, 1978. That area was renamed "Freedom Won Park" in a project whose coordinator was Michael Dalton and sponsors were the Payette Civic League, the 129th Engineer Co. of the Idaho National Guard, and Nancy Jacobsen. The park was dedicated by Governor John Evans. A smaller nearby monument has engravings about the May 13, 1978 dedication of the flagpole and the February 27, 1981 dedication of the park.
The rifle sling and bayonet are missing, and the end of the rifle barrel is now bent. In August of 2015 the park was given a makeover by volunteers from the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association and friends who pulled weeds, swept and repainted the area. |
Photo: Provided by Ann Curtis, Payette County Museum collection.
Above: The May 30, 1923 Payette dedication ceremony at the original location in the center of the intersection of Eighth Street and Center Avenue.
An article in the August 26, 2015 Independent Enterprise incorrectly listed the installation date as July 4, 1920. This is impossible, as Viquesney didn't complete work on his Doughboy until the end of January, 1921. The correct dedication date of May 30, 1923, is shown in a Payette County Historical Society archive file.
An article in the August 26, 2015 Independent Enterprise incorrectly listed the installation date as July 4, 1920. This is impossible, as Viquesney didn't complete work on his Doughboy until the end of January, 1921. The correct dedication date of May 30, 1923, is shown in a Payette County Historical Society archive file.
