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 It’s now 2019 and that makes the Elkhart Doughboy
100 years old!
After receiving the statue, the base was engraved with the
seventy-six names of those veterans. Since then, plaques have been
added to the statue with the names of Village veterans from WWII,
the Korean War, and all veterans killed in action from Elkhart
during past wars.
“What is a ‘Doughboy’ you might ask? The most accepted explanation
for “Doughboy” dates from the Mexican-American War in 1846. It was a
name given to members of the American infantry because their
uniforms were covered with adobe dust and dirt, which made them look
like they were covered in flour. They were called “adobies” then “dobies,”
and eventually “doughboys.”
When Americans landed in France during WWI, the French people
attached nicknames to all the foreigners. Several names were given
to the Americans, but one stuck, Doughboy. These men, that were
identified as Doughboys, were the frontline infantry during the war.
Today, there are about 100 doughboy statues in parks and memorials
nationwide. Most of those statues, which were mass produced in the
1920’s, show the doughboy in a position with the right arm extended
and the right leg bent back. This version is called “The Spirit of
America.” The designer chose this pose, so from the profile, the
statue resembled the stance of the Statue of Liberty.
The Elkhart Doughboy is in a different pose, called “Order Arms,”
which makes him more unique than the others. One possible
explanation for the difference, is that the Elkhart statue was made
before the “The Spirit of America” statue was in mass production.
The statue was originally put in the intersection of
Gillette and Bogardus streets in downtown Elkhart where carriages,
and later cars, drove around it. Ten years later, it was moved to
Elkhart High School at it’s opening in 1924, at which time it was
referred to as “The Soldier’s Memorial.” In 1975, when the school
closed, the Doughboy was moved to the park uptown. It remained there
until vandals chipped away at some of his features.
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At that point, the statue was stored in the Legion Hall until
1986. Susan Green donated money to “spruce up” the statue. Afterward, the
Doughboy was returned to Veterans’ Park and placed near the sidewalk and opening
to the park. In 1994, vandals did heavy damage to the statue: He was beheaded,
his nose was missing, ear was chipped, there were skid marks across the right
side of his face, and the brim of his hat chiseled away. In addition, his right
hand, and gun, were knocked off and broken into pieces. At that time, Legion
members didn’t have the money to fix the statue and doubted it would be
resurrected. Their main concern was finding the culprits, then seeing if the
community would fund a statue restoration project. Again, thanks to Susan Green,
the statue was restored.
The citizens of Elkhart are very proud of their heritage. The newly renovated
Veteran’s Park proudly honors all of the military personnel of Elkhart and
prominently displays Elkhart’s second oldest citizen, (At 101 Mrs. Miller has
the honor of being first.)
Happy 100th Birthday, Doughboy!
[John and Ann Olson] |
