World War I "Doughboy" Statue Memorial - Taunton, MA
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NorStar
N 41° 54.107 W 071° 05.602
19T E 326361 N 4640990
This very realistic sculpture is on the south side of the Taunton Common and is known locally as the "Doughboy."
Waymark Code: WME8M3
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 04/18/2012
Views: 5
In Taunton's downtown section, is the city's common ringed by roads. On the south side of the common is a statue of a World War I "Doughboy" soldier.
The soldier is roughly life-sized and is made of bronze on a round stone base. At the front is a plaque about the statue.
Though not a Viquesney statue, it is of a soldier of that war. The artist was Louis Leech, who was a professor at Boston University. He used actual veterans, Earl Babbit and George Mandigo, as models. There are so many details on the scupture: from the straps and buckles in various places, to the creases in the shoes. Even one of the bags he is carrying had a flap. The figure is striding forward. The right hand holds a rifle. The left arm has swung behind the body. The head is looking off to the right.
There is a plaque mounted on the rock. It states:
"[Three Heads]
V.F.W.
Erected in memory of all deceased comrades by the David F. Adams Post No. 611 Veterans of foreign Wars of the U.S.A. and their friends July 5, 1937"
According to the Taunton Gazette web site, the statue was originally in Memorial Park, but, in 1977, the city moved the statue to the green to be more visible and can be better watched as it had been vandalized in the past [by idiots].
42 men were lost during the war.
Being in the center of the city, parking is available everywhere.
Date the Monument or Memorial was built or dedicated: 07/05/1937
Private or Public Monument?: Private
Name of the Private Organization or Government Entity that built this Monument: V.F.W. David F. Adams Post No. 611
Geographic Region where the Monument is located: North America
Website for this Monument: [Web Link]
Physical Address of Monument:
Taunton Green
Taunton, MA United States of America
02780
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