Human Statue of Liberty

Netlore Archive: Circulating via email, a vintage 1918 photograph by Mole & Thomas captures an aerial view of 18,000 enlisted men and officers forming a 'Human Statue of Liberty.'

Description: Emailed image
Circulating since: Oct. 2007
Status: Authentic

Example:
Email contributed by Mary H., Oct. 15, 2007:

Fw: An Awesome Patriotic picture During the WW I years, Arthur S. Mole and John D. Thomas made some incredible human pictures by using 18K (thousands) sailors or soldiers in uniform to create images. Click to Enlarge Photo by Arthur S. Mole & John D. Thomas (1918) Source of scanned image unknown

Analysis: True. This image matches one in the U.S. National Archives credited to photographers Arthur S. Mole and John D. Thomas, captioned as follows: "18,000 Officers and Men at Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Iowa. Colonel William Newman, Commanding. Colonel Rush S. Wells, Directing." The picture was taken in July 1918.

"Human Statue of Liberty" was one of a series of group photographs taken by Mole and Thomas during and immediately after World War I at U.S. military training camps. Each took up to a week to compose and shoot using an 11" x 14" view camera perched atop an 80-foot tower. According to photography historian Louis Kaplan, these so-called "living sculptures" served as "rallying points to support American involvement in the war and to ward off isolationist tendencies."

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Sources and further reading:

Human Statue of Liberty
U.S. National Archives & Records Administration

'Human Sculptures' Boosted Patriotism, Aided WWI Effort
San Antonio Express-News, 10 November 2007

Mass Group Photos at American Training Camps
Doughboy Center, The Great War Society

Dead Troops Salute
Cabinet magazine, Winter 2006/07

Last updated: 11/12/07