American Doughboy Medal
Maker
Marcel Lordonnois
Period1919
MediumBronze
DimensionsDiameter: 0.13 × 2.5 in. (0.3 × 6.4 cm)
SignedOn the reverse of the medal, the artist's signature "C BY M. LORDONNOIS 1919" appears along the lower right edge beneath the soldier's left foot. "BRONZE" stamped along the medal's rim edge.
ClassificationsThe Robert Hartshorne World War I Collection
Credit LineGift of Mary Minturn Adams in memory of her Hartshorne Ancestors, 2018
Object number2018.10.20.4
DescriptionA circular medal of struck bronze commemorating the American Doughboy of World War I. On the obverse, a relief figure of an charging Infantryman in profile facing left, holding a rifle and bayonet, with a battlefield in the background including a trench with soldiers at left and barbed wire in the foreground. In the far lower right, the artist's signature appears as "M. Lordonnois 1919." On the medal reverse, a flat landscape with various locations of battles including Soissons, Bois Belleau, Chateau Thierry, Reims, Argonne, Verdun, and St. Mihiel. Arching along the top of the medal is "1917 FRANCE 1919," with the French Cross in the center bottom. The medal is accompanied by its original maroon paper and cardboard storage box.Curatorial RemarksThis medal was created by French medallist and sculptor Marcel Prosper Lordonnois. Born in Paris in 1876, Lordonnois studied with Eugene Mouchon, Frederic-Charles-Victor de Vernon, and Contstantin Kluge. The charging soldier depicted on the front of the medal, rifle and bayonet in hand, celebrated the American Doughboy, an informal slang term for a member of the United States Army or Marine Corps, particularly members of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. Although the etymology of the word "doughboy" is uncertain, the term was in use as early as the Mexican-American War (1846 - 1848) and continued to be used through the early years of World War II. The medal's reverse include a landscape on which are noted names of battles in which American troops played significant roles, including Bois Belleau (1 - 26 June 1918), Chateau Thierry (18 July 1918), Soissons (18 - 22 July 1918), Reims (15 July - 6 August 1918), and the Meuse - Argonne (26 September - 11 November 1918). Above the landscape is the inscription "1917 FRANCE 1918." The United States entered the war on 6 April 1917, fighting until 11 November 1918 when the Armistice with Germany was formally signed.NotesThis medal was collected by Robert Hartshorne during his service in the First World War. Hartshorne joined the American Red Cross in 1916. His association with that organization apparently put him in touch with the American Committee for Devastated France, which intended to introduce modern American farming methods in those battlefield areas heavily damaged near Rheims. Hartshorne arrived in France in May of 1918 and returned to the United States at the end of December the same year. Hartshorne collected numerous medals, uniform insignia, and souvenirs commemorating his time abroad. For a more complete biography of Robert Hartshorne, please see the portrait miniature of Robert Hartshorne (accession number 2018.10.9).
Collections
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