Soldiers Memorial, downtown St. Louis. Is the muscle-bound horse protecting the mother and child or leaving them behind as it goes off to war? Probably the latter. I'm not sure if I think it's sincere, melodramatic or creepy. Our feelings about wars--and wars themselves--aren't the same as 85 years ago when this was built.
Okay, I found something. Toward the side of downtown there is a building called the Soldiers' Memorial. It was built after World War I and extensively rehabbed in the last few years. The entrance to the museum is flanked by four monumental statues, a strong, solid person holding the bridle of a muscle-bound Pegasus. (They always remind me of the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales.) The first three represent courage, vision and virtue. This one is a woman holding an infant. Who has to make the sacrifices? Combatants are mostly male, the ones being shot at. But who is behind the lines, carrying all the other burdens?
