Cast in concrete, this sculpture by John "Jack" Weaver is the original of a copy which stands in Butte's Stodden Park as part of a veterans' memorial, "
The United Veteran's Memorial". The copy is listed in the catalogue of the Smithsonian Institution (IAS MT000041) as the "
Butte High War Memorial". There, it is described as follows:
A young man stands dressed in battle gear worn by World War II soldiers in the jungles of New Guinea. His rifle butt rests against his proper left foot and he holds the other end in his proper right hand. His proper left hand holds a long knife. He wears a helmet and his proper left sleeve is torn.
While the copy, cast in bronze, is a glossy black, this, the original, is a light bronze colour. The following is from a bronze plaque mounted on the base of the sculpture.
Jungle Fighter
World War II was raging in 1943 when the Silver B's, the organization of former Butte High School football players, gave Montana native John B. "Jack" Weaver, who became an internationally recognized sculptor, his first commission: sculpt a soldier for a proposed veterans' memorial. This original made of concrete centered the memorial near Butte High for decades. A bronze replica cast in 1996 tops the United Veterans' Council memorial in Stodden Park. Plaque by Silver B's 2010.