Wheeling’s Doughboy is Back and Better than Ever
In 1918, American soldiers – “Doughboys,” as they were known, probably because of their dusty uniforms during the war with Mexico 70 years prior – filled training facilities like Virginia’s Camp Lee in preparation for entering the European conflict that would one day be termed “World War I.”
But our Doughboys were already at war with a microscopic enemy – a deadly H1N1 virus misnamed “Spanish Flu.” These soldiers faced the prospect of war during a worldwide pandemic thought to have originated, not in Spain, but in an American military training camp. By the end of that fateful year, influenza would claim some 45,000 American soldiers (many before they completed basic training), nearly as many as the 53,000 killed in the trenches of France.
Wheeling and Ohio County Doughboys were not immune – at least 25 of the 79 listed on the West Virginia Veterans Database (as well as army nurse Alice Young) died of the effects of influenza, which killed a staggering 50 million people worldwide.
In a painful gut punch of cosmic déjà vu and pathogenic coincidence, the effort to restore Wheeling’s Doughboy monument was severely hampered by just the second global pandemic in the century since the First World War.
Our Doughboy, affectionately named “Lester” after real Wheeling Doughboy Lester Scott, a mule team driver killed in action by German artillery [see Archiving Wheeling’s podcast, “From Camp Lee to the Great War”], was shipped to Detroit in November 2019 to be restored by veteran sculpture conservator Giorgio Gikas and his crew at Venus Bronze Works, the experienced restoration company chosen by the Wheeling Doughboy Restoration Committee after a nationwide search.
The plan was to work on Lester over winter and have him back in Wheeling in time for a Memorial Day 2020 rededication, 89 years after the original dedication of Memorial Day, 1931.
But then, of course, another sinister virus called COVID-19 started causing delay after frustrating delay. Like many other businesses across the country, Venus Bronze Works struggled to stay solvent. As vendors along the supply chain closed, new suppliers had to be found.
The Doughboy & the Cyborg
Venus Bronze Works had also been in the process of creating a monument to one of Detroit’s most famous movie stars, an 11-foot tall bronze statue of the cyborg RoboCop commissioned by Imagination Station, a community arts nonprofit group. But just as the project neared completion after nearly a decade of effort, COVID-19 struck, followed in late May and June by the George Floyd police brutality protests. Like many American cities, Detroit was the scene of large, contentious protests. As statues were pulled down across the nation (Venus Bronze Works was even commissioned to work on the damaged “Forward” women’s suffrage statue in Wisconsin), the idea of dedicating a Robocop monument amid the chaos seemed inappropriate, even though the fictional character symbolizes resistance to corruption and authoritarianism.
So RoboCop and the Wheeling Doughboy waited out the turbulence together in the Venus Bronze Works studio.
For Lester the Doughboy, spring plans turned to summer plans, which turned to Veteran’s Day plans, which turned to late November plans.
Finally, on Friday, December 4th, 2020, Lester the Wheeling Doughboy was escorted by van back to his home at Wheeling Park by metal fabricator and Venus Bronze Works associate Jay Jurma.
Jurma, who did a lot of work on Doughboy’s new Springfield rifle (the original having disappeared decades ago), noted that part of Robocop came back to Wheeling. “The firing pin rod was cast in leftover Robocop bronze and then lathe turned and knurled,” Jurma said.
“The fabrication of the gun consisted of several processes. The bolt was forged and the ball cast around the forging. The barrel was turned from brass pipe the sights and sling attachments machined from bronze plate. The gun was brazed/silver soldered together. This is also how the gun was connected to the hand and then to the arm. Several bronze pop rivers were used for alignment then ground flush and filled with silver solder.”
Time-Tested Metal
The idea of Lester the Doughboy and RoboCop being metal-blood-brothers is pretty cool trivia to learn, but the source of another rifle part was particularly appropriate.
“I assembled part of the receiver from heavy copper pipe that I had been dragging around along with other fittings since my grandfather died and left them to me in the early 80s,” Jurma shared. “He was a master plumber and a great mechanic and taught me to repair and build many things. He was coincidentally also in the U.S. Army during the First World War, which I remembered while using his materials on the Doughboy.”
Metallic Makeover
Lester’s valiant restored look and patina were the result of several processes.
First, old cracks, separations, and rough attempted repairs from the past were soldered, ground, and chased to blend with adjacent surfaces. Dents were removed and strengthened.
“The head and hand were removed and media blasted,” Jurma explained. “The head was removed to press out dents in the helmet. The head was then welded back on after an internal copper support sleeve was riveted in place.”
The missing barbed wire at the foot of the original statue was hand fabricated and installed.
Though the original rifle featured a fixed bayonet, replacing it was deemed too dangerous by the Wheeling Doughboy Restoration Committee. Instead, only the handle of the bayonet was fabricated and installed on top of the sheath on the backpack.
Weep holes were opened at the low points of internal cavities so that entrapped water can drain out. Lester’s base was strengthened using closed cell foam.
All the repairs in place, Lester got a few long overdue, low pressure showers, first with glass beads to remove old paint, then detergent to remove corrosion and years of dirt, then an array of chemicals to achieve a traditional, foundry-applied patina, with respect for his natural, weathered patina accumulated over the years. His next shower included a copper-alloy corrosion inhibitor.
After the cleansing, three different coats of wax were applied as protective coatings. When dry, each coat was buffed with soft brushes and no-lint cloths. Pigmented hard microcrystalline wax was used to plug and seal small holes, cracks, pores, and separations to keep water out. The final coat was buffed carefully to highlight and enhance the form and texture of our Doughboy.
“We discovered a lot of paint which was removed primarily with scotch-bright pads and solvents when needed rather than media blasting.” Jurma added. “One of the advantages of the chosen patina is it works uniformly on different alloys.”
Meanwhile, Back at Home
Even as Lester stayed in Detroit with Robocop, preparations were made back at home for his return. The old, broken concrete pad was removed from around his pedestal, while a new water drainage system, a new stone wall, and new ADA compliant walkway were built in front of the monument by Savage Construction. Shrubs, flowers, and other plants were added by Top-Notch Landscaping. The granite pedestal was cleaned and refreshed by Gallagher Monuments. Finally, lights were added in front of the monument.
Sincere Thanks to Our Community
Now, thanks to the generosity of numerous individuals and foundations, Lester the Wheeling Doughboy is back on his pedestal and looking sharp, ready to vigilantly guard the park grounds for another century.
A formal re-dedication ceremony in being planned for Memorial Day, May 31, 2021, 90 years after the original dedication at Wheeling Park.
Wheeling Doughboy Fast Facts:
- Commissioned by the Service Star Legion (mothers of WWI veterans)
- Created by designer/sculptor Ernest Moore “E.M.” Viquesney.
- The design is called “The Spirit of the American Doughboy.”
- The Wheeling Doughboy is made of pressed sheet bronze, probably 10% tin.
- Originally, there were as many as 300 such monuments, nationwide. Now, our Doughboy is one of only 140 that still exist nationally, and one of four in West Virginia.
- Dedicated on Memorial Day, May 30, 1931 at Wheeling Park before a crowd of 3,000; a 16-piece band; Raymond J. Falland master of ceremonies; Service Star member Mrs. H. E. McConkey unveiled the statue while Mrs. Virginia Hall Donnelly sang the “Star Spangled Banner;” Hon. Otto Schenk of the Wheeling Park Commission accepted the monument on behalf of the city; speakers included William J. Gompers and C.B. Montgomery of Post No. 1, American Legion.
- Dedication: “In Honor of All who served in World War 1917 – 1918”
- There are different Doughboy statues in the Ohio Valley, including Martins Ferry (a cast bronze from the “Over the Top” series designed by Viquesney’s rival, sculptor John Paulding), one in Bridgeport (designer unknown), and one in Bellaire.
- The Wheeling Doughboy Restoration Committee is: Margaret Brennan, Sean Duffy, John Hargleroad, Kevin Duffin, Bob Joseph (Post 1, American Legion), Nat Goudy, Erin Rothenbuehler, and Wheeling 4th Ward Councilman Ty Thorngate.
- For more on the Wheeling Doughboy click HERE. For more on the Viquesney Doughboys, click HERE.
BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS:
Lots of good info. on the statue. Proud to have him in area and in our park. Great work in putting together the refurbishment program. Congratulations.