It is Chad Caswell’s first solo monument: a bronze soldier appearing ready to take on the world. The 21-year-old was commissioned two years ago by Oregon Rep. Jim Weidner and nonprofit group REAL-Heroes to honor Lt. Col. Leonard DeWitt and his story.
The 93-year-old resident of McMinnville, Ore., fought during World War II for the 41st Infantry Division of the Army National Guard, also known as the Sunset Division.
In 1943, during entrenched fighting on the island of New Guinea, DeWitt heard a group of Japanese troops preparing to assault U.S. positions on top of a ridge. After emptying his automatic rifle, he tossed his remaining grenades and prepared his submachine gun. A Japanese grenade sent DeWitt sliding down the ravine, and into a pair of Japanese soldiers traveling up the hill. He struck one with his bayonet. Out of weapons, DeWitt pulled off his helmet and whacked the remaining solider across the jaw. He then slung the helmet down the hill and the soldiers fled.
“When [DeWitt] was telling it, I could just sort of feel the intensity of the story. Leonard was just about my age when he went to Pearl Harbor and fought,” said Caswell. “A hero is someone who stands up and fights when no one else will. Not that they’re more qualified; they just stand up to fight.”
That moment was what Caswell sought to capture in bronze. “I just focused on trying to feel what he was feeling, what he was thinking, what it would be like to be up on the hill,” said Caswell. DeWitt was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and recommended for the Medal of Honor.
Caswell unveiled the bronze sculpture on Dec. 7 to DeWitt, his family and 200 people in front of the Oregon Mutual Building in downtown McMinnville, Ore.
The statue itself was a straight-forward project for the design, Caswell said. But much of the time was spent raising money for more than 350 pounds of bronze. Fundraising included taking the clay form to different events, to help inspire donations. The casting process took about six months.
The sculpture was created using the “lost wax” casting process, where the piece is first sculpted out of clay. The sculpture is then cut apart to be molded using rubber and silicone. Wax is poured into the rubber mold to create a copy, which is then coated in a ceramiclike shell. When it’s fired, the wax melts out, and bronze is poured into the empty shell. Caswell was left with a giant bronze puzzle, which he reassembled, welded and painted with patina.
Caswell was inspired for the sculpture’s pose during a spring trip to Italy with his dad. The pair saw many works by the master sculptors, but it was Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s depiction of David that stood out. The life-sized sculpture shows David in midaction, throwing the stone at Goliath. “He was throwing the stone with this determination in his eyes. When I heard Leonard’s story, I thought of David’s story when he fought Goliath,” said Caswell.
Much of the Caswell’s reference materials were straight from a museum. Alisha Hamel, the executive director of the Oregon Military Museum, provided an authentic WWII uniform, canteen, and helmet for Caswell to use. “I had them with me in the studio the entire time,” he said.
Even though Caswell grew up around sculpting and metalwork, the medium of sculpture has its own draw. “I really like being able to create as if it was actually there. A painting or photograph is more of an illusion, where a sculpture is right there in front of you. If you do it right, Leonard looks like he could just walk right off his pedestal,” said Caswell.
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