Inside Furman is published monthly during the school year by the Furman University Department of Marketing and Public Relations. For story ideas, e-mail John Roberts, editor.
Doughboy to be restored and protected
The Doughboy – Furman's most enduring but often vandalized outdoor sculpture – could be restored or replaced.
Erected on the old campus in 1920 as a tribute to six Furman students who died during World War I, the Doughboy is missing its left rifle-wielding hand. It has also been shot several times.
The statue was removed from its pillar in 1998 and transported to Columbia where it underwent a three-month restoration project. However, the somewhat remote location of the statue has made it an easy target for vandals.
Redderson says he began receiving notes and calls from people concerned about the venerable statue shortly after the rifle and hand were sawed away about a year ago.
“There have been a growing number of comments, especially since we added the new statue at Paladin Plaza ,” says Redderson. “Some people have commented that we should take care of the statues we have, too. Especially this one since it is a tribute to our war dead.”
The university is exploring two options: replacing the copper statue with a sturdier bronze replica that would be more difficult to vandalize or restoring the existing statue. Several security measures, including the installation of a security camera, are also being explored.
Redderson says he hopes the project will be completed by Memorial Day, which is May 31.
The life-size copper soldier is one of numerous Doughboy statues that were erected throughout the nation during the 1920s to commemorate veterans of World War I. The statue depicts a World War I soldier rushing into battle wielding a grenade in one hand and a bayonet rifle in the other.
The term “Doughboy” was used by European soldiers to describe their U.S. allies. At the time many U.S. soldiers filtered into the European campaign from a training base in Texas that was known for its white adobe soil. The soil often covered the U.S. soldiers and discolored their uniforms, giving them a doughboy-like appearance.
Five hundred and forty Furman men, almost the entire student body of the all-male school, volunteered for service during “The Great War.” Six of them – Pvt. Thomas J. Lyon, Jr., Pvt. Otis Brodie, Lt. John H. David, Lt. Charles S. Gardner. Sgt. Charles E. Timmons, Jr., and Cpl. Talmadge W. Gerrald -- died during the war. Their names are inscribed at the base of the Doughboy.
In the late 1940s a plaque bearing the names of Furman students lost during World War II was placed at the base of the statue.
The Doughboy was transported to its current location in 1957 and is one of the few surviving remnants of the old campus.