A German cannon faces the World War I American Doughboy statue outside the W.G. Smith Building at Henry County Memorial Park. Eljah Poe/C-T photo
The controversial placement of a five-ton German cannon was discussed Monday evening during the Henry County Memorial Park Board meeting.
The 1894 cannon, which previously sat on the southwest side of Maurice Goodwin Pond, near the gazebo, was relocated last week. The cannon now sits facing the Doughboy statue in a plaza outside the W.G. Smith Building.
Former Memorial Park Board member and Vietnam veteran Steve Peckinpaugh led restoration and relocation efforts for the Doughboy statue nearly six years ago. Relocating the 10,000-pound cannon was part of those plans and was approved during a Sept. 17, 2018 Memorial Park Board meeting.
However, in 2018, the cannon didn’t have wheels, making the relocation a challenge. Then COVID hit and relocation plans were delayed. The cannon’s wheels have since been rebuilt.
As reported by The Courier-Times, in August 2023, the current park board voted 4-0 to honor the 2018 park board’s decision to relocate the cannon. Memorial Park Board President Rita Fisher was absent from the August 2023 meeting and did not vote on the matter.
Peckinpaugh, who was present at Monday’s meeting to explain the cannon’s placement, said the layout of the Doughboy plaza was designed to replicate a World War I battlefield and emulate what American soldiers (called “Doughboys”) saw and experienced. Historically, Doughboys were armed with hand grenades, which they threw to eliminate enemies in the trenches and those who were manning heavy equipment like cannons, which were sometimes seized as war trophies.
The five-ton German cannon at Memorial Park is believed to have been used in the pivotal July 18, 1918 Battle of Château-Thierry, which involved the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). The AEF was composed of troops from the U.S. Army and Marine Corps who fought against German soldiers. The actions at Battle of Château-Thierry cleared the way for the Battle of Belleau Wood.
“My thought was that the German cannon facing the Doughboy, while somewhat different and maybe jarring, was an absolute true representation of what those Doughboys saw, did and experienced,” Peckinpaugh said. “That cannon, if you look at it, has two marks on it that are fairly obviously made by bullets. In order for those bullets to scar the outside of that cannon, that cannon had to be hot...I believe that cannon exhibits how close the fighting was. Obviously a Doughboy was equipped as an infantryman within that time. He had three weapons – a bayonet, a rifle and a hand grenade. That was his sole weaponry.”
“That’s the reason that cannon is facing the Doughboy,” Peckinpaugh continued. “As a representation of when that cannon was captured. It was not captured running away from the troops. It was captured head-on.”
Peckinpaugh also referenced verbiage from Henry County War Mothers who originally dedicated the Doughboy statue.
“It’s dedicated to the boys from this county who served in the World War from 1917 to 1918,” Peckinpaugh said. “Those mothers still called those guys their boys. It’s my feeling that if they did not want the horrors of war expressed, they would have not bought the Doughboy, who is absolutely, and there’s no other way to put it, poised to do some killing. That’s what he’s about. Nothing less. If they were upset about that demonstration of what their boys did, they would not have touched that Doughboy statue, yet they bought it and dedicated it to their sons. That’s another reason that gave me no pause in my thought at pointing that cannon at the Doughboy.”
“I believe a lot of the problem with people being upset is they don’t know it’s a German cannon,” Peckinpaugh said. “They think for some reason it’s an American cannon pointing at an American soldier, which would be absolutely wrong. But it’s not and there’s no fundamental argument about that fact. I can understand where some people might be upset, and I can understand why some soldiers might be upset. I’m not oblivious, at all, to PTSD [post traumatic stress disorder]...I’m not intending to hurt anybody.”
Park board member Terrill McCall said that while some people speculated about what was trying to be replicated, he had heard the phrase, “If that’s what’s trying to be portrayed, it’s not going to end well for the Doughboy ... that he’s going to sacrifice his life.”
Peckinpaugh said that if the park board felt the cannon should be turned around, that was their decision to make. However, he said another reason the cannon was relocated was so the Doughboy was adequately protected from vehicular traffic in the area and to make the cannon handicap accessible. Additionally, having memorials in a highly-visible area helps protect them from neglect that could come from an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality.
Peckinpaugh said it was his understanding that the five-ton German cannon, along with the larger cannon on the hill overlooking Shively Lake, were the first two memorials, so to speak, placed in Memorial Park.
Memorial Park Superintendent Casey Brumley said both cannons, as well as a personal carrier tank at the park, are leased from the United States Army. The lease agreement, which was recently renewed, was signed by the Henry County Commissioners.
Many audience members present at Monday night’s park board meeting expressed appreciation for learning the history surrounding the cannon and the Doughboy. It was suggested that some sort of signage, or QR code, explaining the historical significance be installed in the area, though no action on the matter was taken.
Fisher also suggested the possibility of a public meeting to continue the discussion surrounding the cannon’s placement, possibly when the cannon undergoes additional restoration work at some point in the future. The potential for park board-led monuments committee was also considered, but again, no formal action was taken Monday evening.
“It’s definitely not a decision we make tonight,” McCall said of the cannon’s placement. “It’s not off the table for discussion...That was kind of where we [the park board] fell short, I believe. We honored the past park board’s decision to allow you [Peckinpaugh] to move it [the cannon], but we didn’t go to the extent of having a conversation of exactly where it’s going to go, so we were ill-prepared going into that.”
However, McCall said he had no regrets about moving the cannon from its previous location to an area where it is more visible and can be cared for.
No members of the public who were present at Monday’s meeting spoke out against the cannon’s current placement.
“I appreciate anybody who brings concerns to the park board about the park,” said Memorial Park Shelter House Committee Member Jim Ward. “If somebody does, we want everybody to feel comfortable...People are passionate on both sides. And we need that passion as long as it’s done respectfully and professionally. I understand what both sides say, but however it comes out, we need to encourage people to bring concerns they have.”
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