The Aviator, Bronze statue at University of Virginia, US
The Aviator is a bronze statue on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, showing a standing male figure with arms outstretched and wings held in his hands. It is placed in front of Clemmons Library, making it visible from multiple directions as people move through that part of campus.
Gutzon Borglum made this memorial in 1918 to honor James Rogers McConnell, a former University of Virginia student who was killed flying for France before the United States entered World War I. McConnell had volunteered for the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron of American pilots who fought on the French side starting in 1916.
The sculpture sits near the library, where students pass it on a daily basis, keeping the memory of a specific person alive in a very ordinary setting. This kind of personal memorial, tied to a real former student, gives the campus a human dimension that large monuments often lack.
The statue stands outdoors and can be visited at any time without a reservation or entry fee. It is easy to find on foot by heading toward Clemmons Library from the central parts of campus.
The figure carries a blade in a sheath, a detail that sets it apart from most war memorials, which tend to favor symbolic gestures or patriotic poses. Gutzon Borglum, who made this piece, is far better known for carving the faces at Mount Rushmore, which makes this campus work easy to overlook.
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