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Memorial
Day 2012
Clearwater and Dunedin, Florida War Memorials
Rediscovered, Restored
(Clearwater) and Relocated
(Dunedin) Soldier
and Sailor
on the Clearwater Memorial Causeway
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| These
matching Army and Navy statues occupy a postage stamp-sized park at the east end
of the Clearwater Memorial Causeway (started 1924, completed 1927). In fact, if
it wasn't for the statues' presence, it would just be another bridge. They are
most certainly overlooked by motorists but the occupants of surrounding buildings
can’t help but notice them. |
Clearwater
Memorial Causeway Doughboy Statue
Photo by John Troesser, May 2012 |
Clearwater
Memorial Causeway Sailor Statue
Photo by John Troesser, May 2012 |
The
sailor looks seaward, while the soldier faces the mainland. The
bronze plaques are hard to read from eight or nine story windows (or from moving
cars), so we have decided to include photos
of them here.
These two statues are one set of nine that are displayed together as
a pair. |
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There were only a
total of nine sailors made (the plaque
is in error) while there were well over 125 “doughboy” statues manufactured. (See
Texas Monuments &
Statues)
There were four slightly different designs made of the soldier.
Most include the tilted stumps / posts of the battlefield at the base. Some even
include barbed wire which may have been added for a touch of “reality” by the
sponsoring committee. It has been estimated that one out of ten WWI
memorials is, in fact, a “doughboy.”
E. M. Viquesney was the sculptor
who met the sudden demand for statuary following Armistice Day (Novemebr 11, 1918).
Viquesney (pronounced Vick-Kay-Knee) was a third generation stonecutter of French
extraction who settled in Indiana and Georgia (two states known for their quarries).
You
can find out all that is known about the statues and their creator (including
myths, locations, and even how to get repairs made) from http://doughboysearcher.weebly.com/index.html
The site is an entertaining and informative journey through the artist’s
life as well as the lives of those hammered copper battalions (including a few
rare stone statues). The correction of the number of sailor statues made is based
on the content of this amazing site.
According to the plaque attached
to each of these statues at the 2010 rededication, there are 137 doughboys adorning
courthouse lawns, memorial parks and small town armories throughout the United
States. |
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Spirit
of the American Doughboy Plaque
Photo by John Troesser, May 2012 |
Spirit
of the American Navy Plaque
Photo by John Troesser, May 2012 |
Clearwater
Florida Memorial Causeway Bridge
Photo by John Troesser, May 2012 |
See State
Stones form a Modest Monument -
Dunedin, Florida War Memorial Memorial
Day, 2012
© John Troesser
Forum:
Article
states there are nine pairs of Viquesney Doughboy/Sailor sites around the country,
and that the plaque mentioning only 7 is in error. The plaque is correct (for
now; I will explain later). There are nine signed Viquesney Doughboy statues in
the state of Texas, but there are currently only
seven locations throughout the country that have the Viquesney Doughboy/Sailor
pairings. They are located at Kingman, AZ; Clearwater, FL; Palatka, FL; Fort Wayne,
IN; Granite, OK; Hobart, OK; and Crowell, TX. Recently an eighth copy of the Sailor
was found "hiding in plain sight" inside the Brass Anchor Ships Store in Pentwater,
MI, where it had stood for something like 35 years before someone spotted it and
reported its existence online. The statue was bought by the city of Naperville,
IL, this June 1 and will be installed this October 13 (the birthday of the U.S.
Navy) near its copy of the Doughboy, making the eighth pair in the country. If
you know of two other locations (before the Pentwater discovery), I would certainly
like to know where they are, so I can add them to my website. - Les Kopel, Webmaster,
http://doughboysearcher.weebly.com/, June 29, 2013
Related
Topics: WWI Chronicles | Texas
Statues & Monuments |
Texas
Bridges | WWII Chronicles
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