On Saturday, April 8, 1923, under the auspices of the American Legion, Wayne County dedicated a memorial to twenty-three Wayne Countians who died in World War I, and to the forty-five men who were wounded in action. The United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917 and Wayne County contributed its share of brave military men. Four hundred and forty-seven men from Wayne County answered the call to defend their country. From these, two hundred twenty-one actually engaged in fighting.

Thousands of the community's residents, and even past residents, participated in the fund-raising through the winter of 1922-23 to enable the purchase of a bronze statue and monument and its installation in the center of the town square. The site had been the location of the first three county courthouses, but had remained a generally open gathering place since the third one was torn down in 1866. The idea for such a monument honoring the recent war heroes apparently had been in the minds of past war veterans for several years. There had been a Victory Day celebration six months after the armistice, held in Monticello on April 28, 1919 with speeches given by many notables including Rev. J.L. Piercy and Lieutenant Alvin York of nearby Fentress County, Tennessee, whose exploits during the war had earned him the title and fame as the most decorated soldier of World War I. Later a motion picture was produced about his life, starring Gary Cooper.

An active committee of the local American Legion (Post 134) was formed to raise the thousands of dollars necessary to construct it. The statue was titled by its sculptor, "The Spirit of the American Doughboy." Captain John W. Tuttle made a design for the memorial, base and small park into which it would be placed. A raised, grassy area bounded by concrete walls and decorative lamp posts was constructed to receive the statue memorial as its centerpiece and was named "Memorial Park." By January 11, 1923, slightly more than half the needed $2,000 was subscribed. Hundreds of citizens pledged their support directly and many more filled in subscription forms featured in the Wayne County Outlook Newspaper.

The statue arrived in Monticello on Friday, January 19th and was first exhibited at a show given by the American Legion. The Outlook reported: "When the spotlight was thrown upon the enormous Soldier Statue, the audience fairly gasped with wonder. After a brief moment of tense silence, broken only by the exclamations of awe at the beauty and impressiveness of this great symbol..., the great crowds burst into a prolonged frenzy of shouting and applause." According to the newspaper, it was the first one erected in the South, although six others had previously been placed in Cleveland, New York, Brooklyn and Buffalo. The original was erected at Centralia, Washington.

It was cast in standard 32-ounce monumental bronze at a cost of about $5,000 and was placed on the Monticello square upon a specially designed pedestal of Georgia marble - the same material used in the construction of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

When the statue was finally erected, a massive dedication ceremony was held. Thousands of area residents attended, along with state and congressional officials, military leaders and heroes, newspaper editors from many of the surrounding communities and large delegations from Stearns and Somerset. The crowd was estimated at 3,500 people.

The local American Legion was in charge of the dedication ceremonies and saw to it that "every window was decorated in the national colors, each store front with bunting, and the main streets with the pennants of the nation and Legion colors."

The ceremony began with James H. Duncan, commander of the Wayne County Post of the Legion, welcoming the visitors. He gave a brief review of Wayne County's part in the war and the events leading up to the completion of the monument. He noted that "among the 400 who came back, were men broken, bruised and maimed, and it will always be the duty of the American Legion as buddy to buddy and man to man to gather up the broken strands of this great fighting machine, and see that they get justice and a square deal."

After the speeches, Adjutant General Morris read a roll call of the dead as little girls laid evergreen wreaths at the base of the monument, one by one, and taps were sounded. Then Captain John W. Tuttle (1837-1927), was given the honor of unveiling the monument as "The Star-Spangled Banner" was played. According to a record Tuttle made of the event, there was no applause and the crowd, overcome with emotion, stood in a reverent tribute. The Civil War Veteran, who so for long had noted important events in local history, had prepared a lengthy address to give to the crowd , however circumstances did not permit it. He merely submitted them in writing for preservation or publication if deemed worthy. They were printed in a limited edition as a small pamphlet. The title page of Captain Tuttle's manuscript: "Address of Captain John W. Tuttle - On the occasion of the unveiling of the monument and dedication of the ‘Doughboy Memorial' at Monticello, Kentucky, April 8, 1923."

The monument depicts the American soldier to the finest detail - the hand-grenade held in an upraised hand, the rifle, bayonet, gas mask, barbed wire entanglement, trench helmet, hobnailed shoe, shell-pitted battle field and alertness.

On the top of the bronze plaque, there is an eagle. The talons are grasping a ribbon banner that says Honor Roll. Underneath the ribbon banner, there is a boxed in area that says:

(In a box underneath the list of names there is a quote):

"FOR WHEN THE TRUMPETS SOUND FOR ARMAGEDDON ONLY THOSE DESERVE UNDYING PRAISE WHO STAND WHERE THE DANGER IS SOREST."

~~~ Theodore Roosevelt, 1918 ~~~

(Wayne County Times, Vol. 1, Number 3, 1985, by Editor and Publisher, Jerry Gibson; Wayne County Outlook Newspaper, January-April, 1923; A Military Review of Wayne County Kentucky, published by the Wayne County Historical Society, 1999, page 219, submitted by Mrs. Kathryn Taylor Tabor, 9/2000).