The iconic zinc statue commemorating Harrison’s World War I soldiers may return to its post as soon as Veterans Day, according to town officials.
The town will spend a total of $43,645 to rebuild the statue: $14,880 will be used to design the mold and $28,765 will cover the costs to cast the statue from bronze.
On June 6––the 72nd anniversary of D-Day––the 76-year-old statue broke at the ankles, fell from its cement pedestal, and shattered against the pavement of Ma Riis Park.
Polich Tallix, a foundry in Newburgh, New York, will be hired to mold and cast the statue. Polich Tallix is responsible for projects including the aluminum decorations for the Metro-North Railroad overpasses entering both the Yonkers and Harlem-125th Street stations.
The silicon-rubber mold will be modeled after the Doughboy statue in Bethel, Connecticut, which is identical to Harrison’s former statue.
The original Harrison Doughboy was cast from zinc, but the replacement will be cast from bronze––a copper-zinc blend––which is expected to increase the statue’s longevity.
Harrison Mayor Ron Belmont, a Republican, told the Review that a Veterans Day replacement was not a certainty, but a goal for the town and the foundry to strive toward. He added that although the town celebrates the holiday in West Harrison, there will likely be some sort of unveiling ceremony when the Doughboy is returned to its post.
A Veterans Day restoration would be fitting timing; the statue was originally erected on Nov. 11, 1939––the 21st anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I––“Dedicated to the men and women of Harrison who served in the World War,” as the plaque on the doughboy’s pedestal reads. The marble pedestal is still in place, and will be used as the post for the new statue. On the back of the pedestal are three plaques listing a total of 300 names of Harrison World War I veterans.
Prior to the statue’s toppling, it lost the bayonet at the end of its rifle, which Belmont said would also likely be replaced, bringing the statue back to its original form.
Harrison’s Doughboy is among more than 140 nationwide modeled after E.M. Viquesney’s “Spirit of the American Doughboy,” a design copyrighted in 1934.
According to Town Comptroller Maureen McKenzie, the statue replacement was originally estimated to cost between $50,000 and $80,000.
