This past spring and summer I have been very busy sculpting a WWII Memorial for the Marine Raider Foundation. The work consists of three Marine Raiders: a Browning Automatic Rifleman, a Dog Handler and his German Shepherd, and a Navajo Code Talker.
The finished sculpture will be cast in bronze and placed inside the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia sometime next year.
Raider boot detail on the Dog Handler.
This project is very involved with a long list of WWII gear to be included in the memorial (period specific to the battle on Bougainville Island, Nov 1943). I also have four models who weekly come to my studio and pose in dungarees or camo. Recently I finished up the details on the boots and thought I'd share a sneak peak.
Seen here are the Raider Boots worn by both the Dog Handler and the BAR Man. The Navajo Code Talker wears the Boondocker leather field shoes with leggings over the hem of his pants.
Raider boots shown on the Dog Handler
Raider boots on the Browning Automatic Rifleman
Boondockers on the Navajo Code Talker