Helena's Doughboy

Spirit of the American Doughboy, erected in Helena in 1927, is one of the best-known outdoor sculptures in the nation. Created in 1920 by Ernest Moore Viquesney, it is one of 130 Doughboys standing in thirty-five states. The sculpture depicts a World War I soldier attacking across no man's land between the trenches, holding a grenade in his upraised right hand and a rifle in his left. His metal trench helmet recalls danger from the air, the gas mask on his belt evokes the mustard gas attacks that left many soldiers disabled, and the barbed wire around his feet represents obstacles used to hinder attacks. He stands on a battle-torn, shell-pitted surface with blasted tree stumps. The United States entered World War I on April 2, 1917, nearly three years after the war began, and for Americans the war lasted eighteen months. During that time, 1,946 men from Phillips County served in the armed forces. Soon after the war ended on November 11, 1918, the Phillips County Memorial Association, Helena's American Legion Post, and the Seven Generals Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy began raising funds for a monument honoring the county's World War I veterans. Hindered by a poor economy and other difficulties, the effort took nine years. On July 10, 1927, as waters from a devastating flood receded, the statue was unveiled in a lavish ceremony with music by the Marianna military band and Boy Scouts serving as marshals. Senator Joe T. Robinson of Arkansas delivered the address, and more than 2,500 people watched as seven young women representing the towns of Phillips County removed the drapery to reveal the statue.

Helena-West Helena, Arkansas · United States