The Spirit of the American Doughboy, (sculpture).

The Spirit of the American Doughboy, (sculpture).

Viquesney, E. M., 1876-1946, sculptor.

Gifford Marble and Granite Works, contractor.

The Spirit of the American Doughboy, (sculpture).

American Doughboy Statue, (sculpture).

Copyrighted 1920, 1934. Installed 1923. Dedicated Sept. 5, 1925.

Sculpture: bronze; Base: granite.

Sculpture: approx. 77 x 25 x 57 in.; Base: approx. 73 x 48 x 47 in.

(South side of sculpture:) Copyright Walter Rylander, 1920 (North & south surface of base:) Chickasaw/Choctaw/Seminole/Cherokee/Creek (West surface of base:) Colbert/Pushmataha/Oceola/Sequoyah/Opothle-Yahola (Incised on front of base:) VICTORY/PEACE (On plaque on front of base:) ERECTED IN COMMEMORATION/OF MEMBERS OF THE FIVE/CIVILIZED TRIBES, WHOSE/RECORD OF ENLISTMENT/CONDUCT IN CAMP, AND/FORTITUDE AND VALOR ON/THE BATTLEFIELD, ADDED/LUSTRE TO THE TRIUMPHANT/VICTORY OF OUR COUNTRY IN/THE WORLD WAR/(List of donor names) unsigned

Figure of a World War I infantryman, dressed in uniform advancing through the stumps and barbed wire of No Man's Land. He holds a grenade in his raised proper right hand and a rifle in his proper left hand. Statue stands on a low wall built with blocks of granite from Stone Mountain, Georgia.

History -- United States -- World War I

Figure male -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Object -- Weapon -- Gun

Object -- Weapon -- Grenade

Outdoor Sculpture -- Oklahoma -- Muskogee

Veterans Administration Medical Center, Honor Heights Drive, Muskogee, Oklahoma

The sculpture was erected to recognize the contributions of American Indians from Oklahoma who fought in World War I. It was dedicated in memory of Joseph Oklahombi, an American Indian, who was Oklahoma's only Congressional Medal of Honor winner in World War I. On north and south faces of the base are the names of five Indian tribes that make up the "Five Civilized Tribes." On the west face of the base are the names of principle Indian chiefs at the time of the statue's construction. On the east face, a metal plaque commemorates the members of the tribes who fought in the World War I, above the words Victory and Peace etched in the stone. At the bottom of the base on the east face is a metal plaque with the name of the company that produced the base (Gifford Marble and Granite Works).

IAS files contain dedication brochure and copy of National Register of Historic Places Inventory nomination form. For additional reading see: Odie B. Faulk, "Muskogee-City and County," Muskogee, OK: Five Civilized Tribes Museum, 1982, pg. 103; and C. W. West, "Muskogee: From Statehood to Pearl Harbor," Muskogee, OK: Muskogee Pub. Co., 1976, pg. 111, 121, 180.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Oklahoma survey, 1994.

Wesley, T. Perry, 1991.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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