This is the second memorial in East Providence that I spoke of yesterday, this one in honor of those who died in WW I. This World War I Memorial was designed by Pietro Montana, an Italian-born painter and sculptor. For the design of the sculpture, Montana modeled Charles Atlas and "strove to communicate the U.S. doughboy's upstanding character and valor by way of a muscle-bound physique.” At the dedication, Major General Charles Pelot Summerall gave an address which highlighted the handicap placed upon the soldiers by a lack of preparedness and "invoked the fighting ideal embodied by Montana's doughboy." I decided to crop into my original photograph so you can see all the detail. What a handsome man he is!
Here is the whole statue. It is such a beautiful sculpture, and below I am showing a detail of his feet and his helmet. And here is the good news, if any. I mentioned that almost 280 people died from East Providence during the Civil war, for WW I they list 23 soldiers who died. The plaque in the last photograph at the bottom shows all the names, this time
I am amazed at the fine details shown of this dough boy. His furrowed brow, the vein in his hands, details in his uniform. Montana was such a skilled sculptor. Thanks for sharing all the photos.
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The cropped photo really shows the details. Incredible. The sculptor was a skilled craftsman. betsey
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