Oak Park River Forest War Memorial

Notes:

This monument in Scoville Park, was dedicated on Armistice (now Veteran’s) Day, November 11, 1925, with Vice President C.G. Dawes and General Pershing in attendance. This bronze and granite memorial was designed by Gilbert P. Riswold. 12,000 people attended the dedication ceremonies. The total height is 21′ 3″. Columbia, armed and in the attitude of peace by sheathing her sword, is the dominant feature. Bronze life sized statues of a soldier, sailor and airman are in the front. A 5′ wide x 15′ high tablet in the back list the names of the 56 local men who fell in battle in WW1 plus the 2446 others who served. (Among them is the name Hemingway, E.M. that is Oak Park born Ernest Hemingway who served as an ambulance driver, afterwards immortalizing his experiences in “A Farewell to Arms.”) The bronzework was done by Jules Berchem & Son.