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Calvin

18,000 Men - Human Statue of Liberty

Copied from http://www.snopes.com/photos/patriotic/liberty.asp

Claim:   Photograph shows U.S. soldiers forming a giant Statue of Liberty figure.

Status:   True.

Example:   [Collected on the Internet, October 2007]
YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS.....THE HUMAN STATUE OF LIBERTY

OPEN IN WIDE SCREEN ITS WONDERFUL..

Unbelievable, can't imagine how long it took to line all of these men up just right to get such a picture!

During the WW I years, Arthur S. Mole and John D. Thomas made some incredible human pictures by using thousands of sailors or soldiers in uniform to create images.






Origins:   As the web site of the Iowa National Guard explains, the above-displayed photograph of a "human Statue of Liberty," formed by 18,000 posed soldiers, was taken in July 1918 at Camp Dodge, Iowa, as part of a planned promotional campaign to sell war bonds during World War I:
On a stifling July day in 1918, 18,000 officers and soldiers posed as Lady Liberty on the parade [drill] grounds at Camp Dodge. [This area was west of Baker St. and is currently the area around building S34 and to the west.] According to a July 3, 1986, story in the Fort Dodge Messenger, many men fainted — they were dressed in woolen uniforms — as the temperature neared 105°F. The photo, taken from the top of a specially constructed tower by a Chicago photography studio, Mole & Thomas, was intended to help promote the sale of war bonds but was never used.

A reader whose great-grandfather appeared in this picture passed along to us some contemporaneous information about the photograph prepared by the Committee on Public Information

The design for the living picture was laid out at the drill ground at Camp Dodge, situated in the beautiful valley of the Des Moines River. Thousands of yards of white tape were fastened to the ground and formed the outlines on which 18,000 officers and men marched to their respective positions.

In this body of soldiers are any hundreds of men of foreign birth — born of parents whose first impression of the Land of Freedom and Promise was of the world's greatest colossus standing with beacon light at the portal of a nation of free people, holding aloft a torch symbolic of the light of liberty which the statue represents. Side by side with native sons these men, with unstinted patriotism, now offer to sacrifice not only their liberty but even life itself for our beloved country.

The day on which the photograph was taken was extremely hot and the heat was intensified by the mass formation of men. The dimensions of the platting for the picture seem astonishing. The camera was placed on a high tower. From the position nearest the camera occupied by Colonel Newman and his staff, to the last man at the top of the torch as platted on the ground was 1,235 feet, or approximately a quarter of a mile. The appended figures will give an adequate idea of the distorted proportions of the actual ground measurements for this photograph:

Base to shoulder: 150 feet.
Right arm: 340 feet.
Widest part of arm holding torch: 12-1/2 feet.
Right thumb: 35 feet.
Thickest part of body: 29 feet.
Left hand (length): 30 feet.
Tablet in left hand: 27 feet.
Face: 60 feet.
Nose: 21 feet.
Longest spike of head piece: 70 feet.
Flame on torch.: 600 feet.
Torch and flame combined: 980 feet.
Number of men in flame of torch: 12,000
Number of men in torch: 2,800
Number of men in right arm: 1,200
Number of men in body, head and balance of figure only: 2,000

Total: 18,000

Incredible as it may seem there are twice the number of men in the flame of the torch as in the whole remaining design, while there are eight times as many men in the arm, torch and flame as in all the rest of the figure. It will be noted that the right thumb is five feet longer than the left hand, while the right arm, torch and flame is eight times the length of the body. New York's Ricco/Maresca Gallery offers more information on the background of this image and similar photographs by Arthur S. Mole and John D. Thomas:  

Arthur S. Mole was a British-born commercial photographer who worked in Zion, Illinois. During and shortly after World War I, Mole traveled with his partner John D. Thomas from one military camp to another, posing thousands of soldiers to form gigantic patriotic symbols that they photographed from above. The formations depicted such images as the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty, the Marine Corps emblem and a portrait of President Woodrow Wilson. The Wilson portrait, for example, was formed using 21,000 officers and men at Camp Sherman in Ohio and stretched over 700 feet. His "Human Liberty Bell" was composed from over 25,000 soldiers, arranged with Mole's characteristic attention to detail to even depict the crack in the bell. Mole and Thomas spent a week or more preparing for these immense works, which were taken from a 70 or 80 foot tower with an 11 by 14 inch view camera. When the demand for these photographs dropped in the 1920s, Mole returned to his photography business in Zion.

This picture, as well as additional photographs produced in the same style by Mole & Thomas and other photographers (and featuring the patriotic themes mentioned in the preceding paragraph), can be viewed at the web site of Chicago's Carl Hammer Gallery.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/patriotic/liberty.asp
Dow

It's a shame the military isn't what it was.  My father is retired Navy and I have 2 younger brothers, one Army, one Marines.  Seems the military is full of kids who see it as a guaranteed job now for last resorts.  I love my country and all, but the military now-a-days is a sad state.  Did you know the Marines and Army both offer "stress cards" if you feel a drill sargaent is riding you to hard?  Pull that card and you don't have to do what the rest of your platoon is doing.  They also offer soft floor mats for you to do push-ups on.  Anyone ever wonder why military suicides jumped so high in the past 10 years?  It scares me to know that some of the people I grew up with are fighting for our country, especially the ones who I know would tuck tail and run.  Didn't want to de-rail your subject at all Calvin cause that is an awesome photograph of what we once were.  Also, don't judge my words as who I am, those are just my thoughts.
T-wagon

Dow wrote:
It's a shame the military isn't what it was.  My father is retired Navy and I have 2 younger brothers, one Army, one Marines.  Seems the military is full of kids who see it as a guaranteed job now for last resorts.  I love my country and all, but the military now-a-days is a sad state.  Did you know the Marines and Army both offer "stress cards" if you feel a drill sargaent is riding you to hard?  Pull that card and you don't have to do what the rest of your platoon is doing.  They also offer soft floor mats for you to do push-ups on.  Anyone ever wonder why military suicides jumped so high in the past 10 years?  It scares me to know that some of the people I grew up with are fighting for our country, especially the ones who I know would tuck tail and run.  Didn't want to de-rail your subject at all Calvin cause that is an awesome photograph of what we once were.  Also, don't judge my words as who I am, those are just my thoughts.


When my son reported to Ft. Rucker for army aviation training, he let us know what kind of people he was training with.  Many of them had been highly decorated NCO's serving in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.  As a reward for their outstanding service, these people were offered a choice of assignments.  Having walked all over foreign countries as combat soldiers, they decided they'd like to fly for a change as Warrant Officers.  My son says they are among the finest soldiers he has ever met.  He was both proud and humble to train with them.  He is proud to lead them in Iraq today.  In order to have enough people in the face of endless deployments, some standards have been reduced.  Not every service member is outstanding, but, in return for volunteering to try, each one deserves our support.  The recruiting quotas seem to be about filled now, so you may see a gradual increase in standards if that trend continues.  Those of you who feel the job could be better done are welcome to go do it yourselves.  Oh, I'd be careful about calling today's military sorry out on the OIP.  There are sometimes some snake eaters training at Eglin, who happen to be out there for some time off fishing.  They're generally very polite and self-disciplined.  It would be beneath them to do something to a civilian, but you never quite know for sure.  They train Navy divers down at PCB.  There's a diver-looking bar down on Thomas Drive one could go in some night and tell everyone what a sad state the military's in.  They'd probably agree and want to buy you a drink.  Or, maybe not.  As one who didn't serve in the military, I'm not qualified to criticize the least of our service members.  I consider them to all be ahead of me.
Jigslinger

T-wagon wrote:
Dow wrote:
It's a shame the military isn't what it was.  My father is retired Navy and I have 2 younger brothers, one Army, one Marines.  Seems the military is full of kids who see it as a guaranteed job now for last resorts.  I love my country and all, but the military now-a-days is a sad state.  Did you know the Marines and Army both offer "stress cards" if you feel a drill sargaent is riding you to hard?  Pull that card and you don't have to do what the rest of your platoon is doing.  They also offer soft floor mats for you to do push-ups on.  Anyone ever wonder why military suicides jumped so high in the past 10 years?  It scares me to know that some of the people I grew up with are fighting for our country, especially the ones who I know would tuck tail and run.  Didn't want to de-rail your subject at all Calvin cause that is an awesome photograph of what we once were.  Also, don't judge my words as who I am, those are just my thoughts.


When my son reported to Ft. Rucker for army aviation training, he let us know what kind of people he was training with.  Many of them had been highly decorated NCO's serving in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.  As a reward for their outstanding service, these people were offered a choice of assignments.  Having walked all over foreign countries as combat soldiers, they decided they'd like to fly for a change as Warrant Officers.  My son says they are among the finest soldiers he has ever met.  He was both proud and humble to train with them.  He is proud to lead them in Iraq today.  In order to have enough people in the face of endless deployments, some standards have been reduced.  Not every service member is outstanding, but, in return for volunteering to try, each one deserves our support.  The recruiting quotas seem to be about filled now, so you may see a gradual increase in standards if that trend continues.  Those of you who feel the job could be better done are welcome to go do it yourselves.  Oh, I'd be careful about calling today's military sorry out on the OIP.  There are sometimes some snake eaters training at Eglin, who happen to be out there for some time off fishing.  They're generally very polite and self-disciplined.  It would be beneath them to do something to a civilian, but you never quite know for sure.  They train Navy divers down at PCB.  There's a diver-looking bar down on Thomas Drive one could go in some night and tell everyone what a sad state the military's in.  They'd probably agree and want to buy you a drink.  Or, maybe not.  As one who didn't serve in the military, I'm not qualified to criticize the least of our service members.  I consider them to all be ahead of me.

Very well said T-wagon. You'll never hear anything but good things come out of my mouth about the people who have served and are serving in our military. I appreciate and respect every one of them and their families.
T-wagon

Dow has a good point in that it is very hard to replace the veterans who are leaving military service after many deployments with equally qualified and motivated people.  It is disappointing if standards have to be lowered to fill recruiting and training quotas, particularly to those currently serving who met a higher standard.  I also am concerned that our armed forces risk becoming less effective if we can't successfully address these challenges.  I don't think Dow really meant that our forces currently aren't very good.  After all, his brothers are serving, for which I am very grateful.
Chris L

Dow wrote:
It's a shame the military isn't what it was.  My father is retired Navy and I have 2 younger brothers, one Army, one Marines.  Seems the military is full of kids who see it as a guaranteed job now for last resorts.  I love my country and all, but the military now-a-days is a sad state.  Did you know the Marines and Army both offer "stress cards" if you feel a drill sargaent is riding you to hard?  Pull that card and you don't have to do what the rest of your platoon is doing.  They also offer soft floor mats for you to do push-ups on.  Anyone ever wonder why military suicides jumped so high in the past 10 years?  It scares me to know that some of the people I grew up with are fighting for our country, especially the ones who I know would tuck tail and run.  Didn't want to de-rail your subject at all Calvin cause that is an awesome photograph of what we once were.  Also, don't judge my words as who I am, those are just my thoughts.


These thoughts apply to a lot of society today, not just the military.
yucarenow

I think Dow was just speaking on some of the lowlifes of our (I'm in his boat) generation who have joined up for the benefits because they couldn't hack it in the real world.
Of course there a lot of fine service men and women our age. I'm proud to say I know quite a few.
Dow

Sean understood what I was saying.  I wasn't including veterans or older folks that are still active duty.  I was talking about the ones I know and according to my brother's the majority they serve with.  The military isn't for everyone, but folks my age join when they can't find a career of there own or who just want a guaranteed job.  I'm 23 years old, own my own house, own two vehicles, and support a wife and child.  I am a United States Merchant Mariner, so in a sense I serve, but only in the time of a home front war.  I make sure the united states has the oil we need to keep our economy going.  Oil is this country's life blood.  My dad and uncle's who serve/served were disgusted when they asked my brother's how boot camp is nowadays.  Drill sargaent's can't even yell or curse at an individual unless they repeatedly ignore them.  How many of you that served had to be told more than once to do something while in BC?  Like I said older servicemen are not included, I have tons of respect for them.  But when the goverment tells a drill sergaent they can't yell at someone?  Bootcamp is supposed to weed out the weak ones, not give them more opportunity's to stay enlisted.  It's just not for everyone, yet now it seem's they give not one or two, but three or more chances for you to stay enlisted so they have their quoto met.  As I said before, don't let my rants make you think I'm not a patriot, because I am.  My family is all enlisted or veterans and I have much respect for them.  But in this day and age?  I can't say that I can rely on the military to protect me, no matter the cause, when the @$%^ hits the fan.  Yes there are MANY respectable young men and women who join and serve our country for the right reasons, but it should never be given to them.  The military has always been something to be earned and extremely proud to be a part of.  Sorry if I have offended anyone.

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