The Spirit of the American Doughboy ~ Harlan, Kentucky - Figurative Public Sculpture on Waymarking.com

Here is an E. M. Viquesney's Spirit of the American Doughboy Statue depicting a WW I soldier with a hand grenade and a rifle advancing through barbed wire on a battlefield. The Commonwealth of Kentucky has eight known of these Viquesney statues, most are placed in Courthouse squares.


The plaque on the front of the base reads:

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF
THE VALIANT SONS OF
HARLAN COUNTY
WORLD WAR 1917-1918


ERECTED BY
HARLAN POST NO. 54 AMERICAN LEGION
HARLAN KENTUCKY
1930



The paragraphs below are excerpted from the Harlan Daily Enterprise, July 4, 2012.


"The Harlan doughboy was unveiled on Armistice Day, November 11, 1930, to honor the 30 Harlan County men who gave their lives in World War I and whose names are cast in bronze at the base of the statue. A parade opened the ceremonies. Mayor L.O. Smith, in uniform, led the parade with the Benham High School Band immediately following. National Guard, Legionnaires, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and school children also participated. After the parade ended in front of the courthouse, the National Guard fired salutes with rifles, while machine guns rattled salutes from the top of the courthouse.

Dr. J.W.Nolan, wrote and delivered the dedicatory speech. He was a veteran of the Spanish-American War, a medical missionary in Korea, and a captain in the Medical Corps during World War I. Dr. Nolan was not only a well-known physician, but was in great demand for his skills as an orator. His speech praised those who fell in service of their country and closed with these words: “I present this memorial to Harlan County and may the silent dust of these sceptered sovereigns rule our spirits from their urns, and bequeath to the oncoming generations a love that makes memory eternal.”

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Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: The Spirit of the American Doughboy Figure Type: Human Artist Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: E. M. Viquesney Date created or placed or use 'Unknown' if not known: Placed on November 11, 1930. Materials used: Bronze Location: Courthouse lawn in Harlan, Kentucky

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/30/2019 Manville Possum visited it