On Saturday, American Legion Post 44 will mark the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Doughboy Soldiers’ Memorial with a 10 a.m. ceremony on the front lawn of the Barbour County Courthouse in Philippi.
A photo, recently discovered in Post 44’s archives, shows the crowd of thousands who gathered at the courthouse for the original dedication on Armistice Day 1923.
Engraved on a brass plaque on the base of the statue are the names of those soldiers from Barbour County who gave their lives in service to our country in World War I. Additional plaques were added through the years to honor fallen soldiers from World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War and Iraq War.
The ceremony on Saturday will honor all of Barbour County’s fallen soldiers with a red carnation placed in a memorial wreath as the names of the fallen are read aloud. Friends and family members are invited to participate by adding a carnation to the wreath in memory of their loved ones.
The names of Barbour County’s fallen soldiers — as well as historical information and other items of interest about the Doughboy statue — can be found online at https://barbourcountywv.org/ under Document Center, then History Corner.
