Monuments & Memorials

John Paulding's "Over the Top to Victory" is located in Manitou Springs's Memorial Park and was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1924.  It honors all veterans of World War I and, in particular, Marine Pvt. George Eber Duclo, who lived in Manitou Springs and was killed in France on June 15, 1918 during the Battle of Belleau Wood.  Pvt. Eber Duclo was buried on the battlefield but brought home in September 1921.  The local American Legion Post, named in his honor, raised the money to fund the 7-ft statue and placed it on a 20-ton boulder of native granite. Eber Duclo is buried in Crystal Valley Cemetery in Manitou Springs.

For additional background on Marine Pvt. Duclo see: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-fallen-and-forgotten-doughboys-legacy-1527201526

We have included an image from the foundry that cast the original "Over the Top".

This Memorial Plaque is mounted to the outside West wall of the Tobin Center and is accompanied by plaques also dedicated to San Antonio soldiers who Made the Supreme Sacrifice in the Spanish American War and Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941

With headstones lying in a sweeping curve, the 42.5-acre Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial, sits at the foot of Belleau Wood. The cemetery contains the graves of 2,289 war dead, most of whom fought in the vicinity and in the Marne Valley in the summer of 1918. The memorial chapel sits on a hillside, decorated with sculptured and stained-glass details of wartime personnel, equipment and insignia. Inscribed on its interior wall are 1,060 names of the missing. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified. In 1940 during World War II the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery chapel was damaged due to heavy fighting in the vicinity. All damage was repaired except for one shell hole in the chapel, left as a reminder of what took place.

Belleau Wood adjoins the cemetery and contains many vestiges of World War I. A monument at the flagpole commemorates the valor of the U.S. Marines who captured much of this ground in 1918.

Doughboy carrying rifle with arm raised. The memorial is in front of the Cherry County NE Courthouse.

North Dakota World War I Monuments and Memorials Dedicated between 1918 and 1941

 North Dakotans  remembered those who served in World War I by erecting monuments and memorials all over the state.  The monuments and memorials range from bronze tablets which honored local men and women who served, to the Liberty Memorial Building (1925) on the State Capitol grounds in Bismarck, which is a memorial to all North Dakota World War I veterans. 

It appears that a monument erected in Minot on May 30, 1918 is the first permanent monument dedicated to local war dead in the United States.  This special  World War I monument, located in Minot’s Rosehill Cemetery, was erected by the Minot Girls Military Squad.  http://www.minotdailynews.com/news/local-news/2017/02/monumental-memorial/

Two bronze “doughboy” monuments are located in North Dakota.  One is located in the Riverview Cemetery, Williston and the other on the Richland County Court House Lawn in Wahpeton.    Both were erected in 1927.  Other organizations, such as the North Dakota War Mothers also dedicated monuments to their sons and daughters who had served in World War I.

North Dakotans also dedicated parks, such as the Lamoure County Memorial Park (1921), many community centers, and five county court houses as memorials. The five counties that built World War I memorial courthouses are Emmons (1934), Hettinger (1936), Renville (1936), Stark (1937) and Ward (1930).  The author has  worked with the State Historical Society of North Dakota to locate and research these monuments and memorials across the state.  As of  July 2017, over forty World War I monuments and memorials erected between 1918 and 1941 have been identified.  http://history.nd.gov/hp/WWImemorials.html  If you know of a monument or memorial constructed between these dates that is not on the attached list, please contact the State Historical Society of North Dakota at 701-328-2089.

The Barre World War I Monument has a 6' high bronze figure of a Doughboy, standing on a 6' by 5' by 3.5' rock. The helmeted soldier is leaning slightly forward with his rifle held in front of him with both hands. The sculpture was created by Joseph P. Pollia and dedicated in 1929.

A bronze plaque on the back of the base is inscribed:

ERECTED
BY THE TOWN OF
BARRE
IN HONOR AND MEMORY OF
THOSE WHO SERVED
IN THE WORLD WAR.

A bronze plaque on the front of the base is inscribed:

WORLD WAR HONOR ROLL
1914-1918
BARRE, MASSACHUSETTS
DIED IN SERVICE

* FREDRICK ADDY
* JOSEPH BENTLEY
* EDWIN BOWEN

* J. ALEXANDER BROWN
* ROBERT J. CLAPP
* JOHN CRANSTON

* SALVATORE DANNOLFI
* SAMUEL DAUNT
* ALLAN F. MARSH

* JOHN R. MOORE
* MICHELE ROSSELLI
* JOSEPH WISPALIS

* ANTONIO ZANCHI

Followed by a five column list of 198 names of those who served.

On the grounds of the state capitol is a stone sculpture by an unknown artist, commemorating the members of the 81st Division, which saw action in WWI. It was dedicated on October 10, 1941.

On a large boulder are carved two figures of WWI soldiers. A helmeted one with a pistol stands, holding a helmet-less wounded one in his arms. Virgo Brandt-Erichsen sculpted this in 1928-30, using local veterans L.t. Joseph D. Donahue and Sgt. David H. Harling for his models. It was dedicated on November 11, 1930.

Erichsen built the memorial out of a stone taken from Jaffrey. The massive 40 ton stone was moved to East Jaffrey over a six week period. Mr. Erichsen began construction of the memorial which took him almost two years.

The memorial plaque at the base lists the 104 Jaffrey men who served in the War. The dedication, on Armistice Day, was attended by hundreds from throughout New England. In 1949, Brandt-Erichsen created the Gold Star Mothers Memorial at the opposite end of the common which names the nine Jaffrey men who died during World War II. Also in the common - officially called Memorial Park - is the town Bandstand. This is the third one at this site. It had been removed some years ago but was returned and restored in 1986. It hosts summer concerts and other events during the year.

A full-length concrete WWI soldier stands with both hands on his rifle, atop a truncated stone base. It was sculpted by Claude Fisher and erected in 1936 to honor local WWI veterans.

Dedicated in 1926, the inscription on this memorial reads:

IN HONOR OF
THE MEN AND WOMEN
OF
THE CITY OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA,
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN
THE WORLD WAR
FOR THE PRINCIPLES OF
JUSTICE, FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY.

ERECTED BY THEIR COMRADES OF THE
FIVE RICHMOND POSTS OF THE AMERICAN LEGION,
1926.

This is a 2/3 scale skeleton form of a WWI SPAD XIII airplane.  It was sculpted by Lucky Styles, with assistance from Sgt. William Harrick, Jr.  A plaque in front gives some details about the performance of the French-built plane (Societe' Pour L'Aviation et ses Derive's).  It also commemorates Lt. Frank Luke, Jr., a Phoenix native who in his SPAD XIII downed 18 enemy aircraft and balloons during 17 days of aerial combat, earning him the distinction of being the first U.S. aviator to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.  See photo gallery for photo of Lt. Luke.

April 6, 1917-November 11, 1918

New plaque as a result of deteriorated condition of original and addition names added

ERECTED BY THE CITIZENS OF THE TOWN OF SHAWANGUNK TO COMMEMORATE THE PATRIOTIC SERVICES OF THE MEN IN THE WORLD WAR 1917-1918

Addition names have been added after initial creation of plaque

Iron Mike is synonymous with a tough, brave American who has served for his country. Statues of Iron Mike has been used in different guises as monuments commemorating the different military branches of the United States, different wars, and even the Civilian Conservation Corps. The Iron Mike that stands at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia, is a World War I Marine holding a 1903 Springfield rifle, wearing a pack with a bayonet and trenching tool.

At the end of World War I, French sculptor, Charles Raphael Peyre, was commissioned to design a statue in honor of the American soldiers who fought in France. He used Marine Pvt. Carl J. Millard as his model and copied him exactly, right down to the Marine Corps emblem on his helmet. Army Gen. John Pershing demanded that the emblem be removed, but Peyre refused to compromise his work, and the Army would not buy it. Marine Corps Gen. Smedley Butler raised enough money to buy the statue and after being displayed at the the Exposition des Beaux Arts of the Grand Palaise des Champs-Élysées, in Paris, in 1919, the statue, entitled 'Crusading for Right', was installed in front of base headquarters at the then-new Marine Corps base at Quantico, VA. Iron Mike, as it is more commonly known, is a memorial to the Marines who gave their lives in World War I and was dedicated on December 8, 1921. Plaques were added to the base of the statue commemorating the officers and men of 5th Regiment and 6th Regiment, and the 6th Machine Gun Battalion, USMC, who lost their lives in World War I.

Iron Mike was duplicated to stand at the entrance to the Marine Corps museum. It is an exact replica of the original including the sculptor's name, 'Peyre', inscribed on Iron Mike's right boot, and the foundry where the statue was cast, 'VAL d'OSNE FONDEUR PARIS', inscribed on the left boot. Raised gold letters IRON MIKE are on the front of the 5-sided concrete base. Plaques to the 5th Regiment, the 6th Regiment, and the 6th Machine Gun Battalion are mounted on three sides. 

The original statue, 'Crusading for Right', remains in front of Butler Hall, now the home of the Marine Corps Training and Education Command, on base.

Northwest face inscription:
1775 Semper Fidelis 1918
In memory of the Officers and Men of the
6th Machine Gun Battalion
United States Marines
who gave their lives for their Country
in the World War in 1918.

West face inscription:
1775 Semper Fidelis 1918
In memory of the Officers and Men of the
6th Regiment United States Marines
who gave their lives for their Country
in the World War in 1918.

Southwest face inscription:
1775 Semper Fidelis 1918
In memory of the Officers and Men of the
5th Regiment United States Marines
who gave their lives for their Country
in the World War in 1918.

South face inscription: 
Commissioned and Donated
by Patrick F. Taylor, Cpl, USMCR
New Orleans, Louisiana

This eight and a half foot tall bronze sculpture depicts two WWI figures, a soldier and a sailor. They are in uniform, and the soldier is slightly in front of the sailor. It was sculpted by Sally James Farnham (1876-1943) and dedicated on July 16, 1927, to honor veterans of WWI.

This is a six foot tall bronze statue of a winged female Victory, walking forward holding the remains of a sword. On a granite pede­stal are plaques depicting war scenes involving Infantry and Engi­neers. Air Force and Pilots, Artillery and Signal Corps, and Navy and Marines. It was dedicated on May 30, 1921, as a tribute to the citizens of Lorain who served in WWI. The rest of the sword and an olive branch which had been held by the figure were lost in a 1924 tornado. They were replaced in 1948 by August Nabakowski, and late in 1948 or early in 1949, they were stolen.

• On Guard"

Forest Lawn Museum, 1712 S. Glendale Ave., Glendale, CA 91205: Daily dawn dusk. Free.

This statue sculpted by Theo A.R. Kitson depicts a WWI infantryman looking straight ahead. It is approximately nine feet tall.

This bronze statue sculpted by Theo A.R. Kitsun depicts a World War I infantryman looking straight ahead, holding a rifle in front of himself with both hands.  It is approximately 9 feet tall.

This memorial, dedicated on November 30, 1930, features a World War I doughboy with his rifle in his left hand and his right hand raised in a closed fist. Details included with the soldier are a bedroll, canteen, and a small pack. Beneath the statue is a plaque that lists the names of 17 Llano County citizens who lost their lives during the war. 

The plaque reads as follows:

"In Grateful Memory of the Men From Llano County Who Made the Supreme Sacrifice In the World War 1917-1918.

[list of names]

“If Ye Break Faith With Us, We Will Not Sleep.”

Erected by The Shakespeare Club, Llano Tex."

Teich, Frank, 1856-1939, sculptor.
Paulding, John, 1883-1935, sculptor.
American Bronze Company, founder.

Stained Glass Window crafted by Tiffany & Co. Dedicated in 1919 with a large celebration, a parade, and a speech by NY Governor, Charles S. Whitman. Names include Malcolm L. Tuthill, one of the first men to receive a Purple Heart, whose helmet, tunic, and boots are on display at the National Purple Heart Museum.

An unknown sculptor fashioned this marble sculpture of a WWI infantryman holding the barrel of his rifle with both hands in front of himself. He wears a wide-brimmed hat, hobnail boots and wrap leg­gings, and he carries a knapsack over his shoulder. The base of field and river stones has a marble panel inscribed in honor of the seven local men who died in WWI, and all from Polk County who served in it.