Heroes Redwood Grove
This grove is dedicated to the memory of the members of the San Francisco Parlors, Native sons of the Golden West who gave their lives in the World’s War I and II.
The meadow adjacent to this grove and the Doughboy Statue with laurel wreath are easy to notice while passing by on JFK Drive, but the redwood grove itself is visited less often. The trees were planted in 1930 in honor of war casualties, and have since grown enough to create a dense, shady grove.
The sculpture was by M. Earl Cummings – whose work is seen throughout the park – it is bronze and originally created in 1928 for the Pan Pacific International Exposition. It was acquired by popular subscription, for $6,000, through the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West and installed in the park in 1930.
A side note: The term “doughboy: was in use in the 1840s. The origins are unclear. The most often cited explanation is that it arose during the Mexican–American War, after observers noticed U.S. infantry forces were constantly covered with chalky dust from marching through the dry terrain of northern Mexico, giving the men the appearance of unbaked dough. Another suggestion is that doughboys were so named because of their method of cooking field rations of the 1840s and 1850s, usually doughy flour and rice concoctions baked in the ashes of a camp fire, although this does not explain why only infantryman received the appellation. Still another explanation involves pipe clay, a substance with the appearance of dough used by pre-Civil War soldiers to clean their white garrison belts. The uniforms that were worn by American soldiers in the World War I era had very large buttons. The soldiers from allied nations suggested that the Americans were dressed like “Gingerbread Men” and then began to refer to the Americans as The Doughboys.
This statue is charming and in such a lovely setting. Thanks for the history lesson….you’d think someone would have the last word on the meaning of doughboys.
A lovely statue. Beautiful trees. I’ve known the term, “doughboy,” referred to WWI soldiers but certainly enjoyed the extended commentary as to where the term came from!
He is quite the handsome guy! Nice one.
Lovely memorial… my first thought was WWI.
Such peaceful surroundings for this memorial. It has been interesting to read about the different opinions regarding the term doughboy over the years, but we may never know its exact origin.
Beautiful statue.
Regards and best wishes
I’m so glad you decided to join us and share at Weekly Top Shot 🙂 I hope you’ll come share again next week…
The schooner depicted at the base of the “Pioneer Mother” statue is that of the “Ella Frances”, captained by my Great-great grandfather, Frederick Ilsley, or Portland, ME. When he sailed into San Francisco harbor, the crew deserted the ship to look for gold. I think the ship was either burned in the harbor, pillaged for wood, or both.