The Spirit of the American Doughboy is a pressed copper sculpture by E. M. Viquesney, designed to honor the veterans and casualties of World War I. Mass produced during the 1920s and 1930s for communities throughout the United States, the statue's design was the most popular of its kind, spawning a wave of collectible miniatures and related memorabilia as well as numerous copies by other artists. Its title is often shortened to "The Doughboy", and in some locales it is nicknamed Iron Mike.
This American Doughboy Statue is At 155 East Main Street in Price City Peace Garden in front of College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum.
The Smithsonian IAS record doesn't name the sculpture by its full title, "The Spirit of the American Doughboy".
The plaque inscription on the front of the base reads:
HONOR ROLL
IN MEMORY OF THOSE
WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE
WORLD WAR I
(followed by five names*)
WORLD WAR II
(followed by eight names)
ERECTED MAY 30, 1948
Originally dedicated in Hiawatha, Utah, in May, 1922, probably on or around the 30th.
The statue itself was not erected in 1948. That date reflects the addition of WWII names on the plaque while the statue was still at Hiawatha. The statue and plaque were moved and reinstalled at Price in 1989. The location of the plaque that was on the monument until 1948, if there was one, isn’t known.
The lower plaque on the base’s front concerns the Doughboy’s original dedication in Hiawatha, Utah by Hiawatha’s Henry Holdsworth (*one of the five World War I names), and reads:
This statue was erected in Hiawatha, Utah
by the Henry Holdsworth Post # 15 of the
American Legion May 1922, to honor five
men from Hiawatha who died in World
War I. In June 1948 eight names were
added for those killed in World War II.
In 1989 through the efforts and sole
expense of American Legion Price Post #3,
this statue was graciously donated to Price
City by the mayor and town; council of
Hiawatha, Utah.
The plaque on the back of the base honors Lt. (J. G.) Wm. E. Hall, a native of Stor, Utah, whose heroism in the Battle of the Coral Sea in World War II resulted in the award of the Congressional Medal of Honor. It reads:
CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR
to
Lt. (J. G.) Wm. E. Hall
At the risk of his life, May 7, 1942, dive bombed and helped sink enemy carrier Shoho in Coral Sea. May 8, 1942 on anti-torpedo patrol, destroyed three enemy planes. Though badly wounded, he landed his damaged "Dauntless" on USS Lexington. His indomitable and aggressive spirit and his will to come through at all costs against tremendous odds, with utter disregard for his personal safety, is attested by his conduct on this ocasion.
Entered service from Hiawatha, Utah.
The only other Congressional of Honor awardee mentioned on a plaque at an existing Viquesney Doughboy is another World War II awardee, Private Joseph W. Ozbourn, who gave his life on Tinian Island, and is mentioned on a plaque at Herrin, Illinois.
Plaques on the two sides of the base contain honor rolls naming those from Carbon County (which includes both Price and the site of the former town of Hiawatha) who served in World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
A coal company, which owned all of the real property in Hiawatha, sold it to another company in 1989 and the new owners began demolishing structures of the town to proceed with mining operations. The Hiawatha town council decided that the Doughboy should be moved and offered it to the Mayor of Price, who had grown up in Hiawatha. The Price American Legion post underwrote the move, and it was rededicated in Price November 10, 1989. The population of Hiawatha is now less than 250.
The Peace Garden area was designed and built specifically with the Doughboy in mind. It was once the location of the Price L. D. S. (Mormon) Tabernacle and there is a small nearby monument that commemorates that fact. The setting in Price is among the most impressive in the country. The entire base and surrounding pillars were moved from Hiawatha to Price along with the sculpture.
The Doughboy is in generally good condition after being restored in the Summer of 2004.
source: (
visit link)