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| Sculptor James Butler, RA, with His New Work |
On 11 November 2021, 103 years after the Armistice that ended WWI and 100 years after the return of the American Unknown Soldier to Arlington Cemetery, a bronze sculpture entitled The Return from the Argonne, from British sculptor James Butler, RA, will be inaugurated in front of Montgomery Union Station. This gift is made to the city of Montgomery by the Croix Rouge Farm Memorial Foundation through the generosity of longtime community, business leader, and Korean War veteran Nimrod T. Frazer, Silver Star.
The Return from the Argonne will complement The Rainbow Soldier, another bronze sculpture from James Butler located at Union Station, which remembers specifically the legacy of the 167th Infantry of the Rainbow Division. It was from this very same Victorian Railroad station that these National Guardsmen departed for France in August 1917 and where they returned in May 1919. The memorial also will honor all the Alabamians who fought in the Meuse-Argonne campaign, and the African American soldiers, mostly from Alabama, from the 366th Infantry of the 92nd division. The Return from the Argonne will remember them as well as another Alabama native son, the famous band leader James Reese Europe from Mobile, who served in the Argonne. He led the military band of the 369th regiment (Harlem Hellfighters) which brought jazz to Europe.
The public is invited to attend this historic event. Among those who will be attending the 11 a.m. statue dedication at Montgomery's Union Station on 11 November 2021, will be representatives from France, as well as military leaders, elected officials and business and community leaders.
Thanks to Monique Seefried for contributing this material.
I hope they don't forget the other Alabamians who served in other units like my grandfather, 1Lt William M. Rosson USAR (1895-1968) of Mobile, Alabama, who was in Co. A, 305th Inf., 77th Division, M-A - 1st and 2nd Phase.
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