I actually made it back into the shop the other day to finally finish this little bust. He turned out so well I’m thinking of using him for the Dayton show carving auction instead of “Pancakes”. I’m sure there are a lot of viewers out there who will relate to this one more than the other.
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I made the hanging helmet straps out of tupelo and the small strap over the front of the steel pot out of a thin strip of aluminum flashing. The dog tags are also cut from some flashing, held to the body by a soldered post. The M1 rifle is a separate piece doweled to the back, working from a photo I tried to make it as accurate as possible and yes, the strap buckles are not accurate but look ok to me. I really like this one and will no doubt do some more soldiers later on.
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Growing up, there was a book of Willie & Joe cartoons in the family library. I’d spend hours flipping through the pages. I’d also rush home from school to see the TV show called “The Big Picture” about the USA actions during WW2. I was a complete Army nut!
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Comments welcome.
Again, a great carving, Lynn. It happens to be that 80 years on this day ago, the first
town set free through the Americans in the Netherlands. Thank you for that. Where I live, we were liberated on 20 October 1944.