A hint of a smile and just enough confidence in the eyes.
Those are the features sculptor Greg Harris of Tell City said he tried to capture in a monument he recently created to honor Edgar D. Whitcomb, Indiana’s 43rd governor.
On Saturday, Whitcomb, 96, his wife, Evelyn, family members, friends and many others gathered in his small hometown of Hayden to unveil and dedicate the monument, located next to his childhood home.
The project is being funded through the Jennings County Community Foundation with support from Hayden Historical Museum and the Friends of Ed Whitcomb Committee.
When the curtain dropped, revealing the large bust of Whitcomb placed in a hollowed out piece of stone shaped like Indiana, applause erupted and sounds of appreciation from the crowd could be heard.
Everyone, including Whitcomb, said they were impressed by how the monument turned out.
Whitcomb said he appreciated the support of Harris and the community and that they thought enough of him to build the monument.
The ceremony was conducted during Hayden’s Pioneer Days to take advantage of the people there for the festival in the small western Jennings County community.
Don Dudine, president of the Friends of Ed Whitcomb Committee, said monuments are built for one of three reasons — to honor an act of bravery, to commemorate a lifetime accomplishment or to recognize a contribution to the indomitable spirit of the human condition.
“So is it any wonder that a monument has been built here on this property honoring a man from Hayden, Indiana, who fits not one but all three reasons?” he said.
Dudine said he spoke with Whitcomb before the dedication and discussed how the monument wasn’t necessarily for him to enjoy but for residents of Hayden, especially children, to look up to.
“It is our hope that this monument will preserve for generations an example of what can be achieved growing up in a free society with no restrictions on how far we can go or how much we can achieve,” Dudine said.
The monument pays tribute to three periods in Whitcomb’s life. To the left is a flagpole with a U.S. flag and a plaque in honor of Whitcomb’s time serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces. During World War II, he was sent to the Philippines and was captured by the Japanese. He escaped twice and rejoined the war effort.
He later published a book, “Escape from Corregidor,” recalling the events.
A plaque to the right is dedicated to Whitcomb’s adventurous spirit. In 1996, at age 71, he sailed solo around the world in his sailboat, which hit a reef and sank. Whitcomb had to be rescued. In 2011, he published his third book, “Cilin II, A Sailing Odyssey.”
In the middle is the large bust that signifies his time as governor of Indiana from 1969 to 1972. He also served three years in the Indiana State Senate and was secretary of state in 1966.
The Indiana state flag flies from a second flagpole to the right.
Retired Hayden educator Pat Sullivan, a member of the Hayden Historical Museum, said he taught his sixth-grade students about Whitcomb and every year read “Escape from Corregidor” in class.
“Then I would have Ed come and talk to the class,” Sullivan said. “Not many students can say they got that kind of history lesson in school.”
But what Sullivan said he tried to get across to his students was that Whitcomb started out just like them.
“What he taught me and helped me teach my students is that it doesn’t matter how small your town is or how small your school is,” Sullivan said. “What is important and makes an impact is that they have a big character, give a big effort and have big dreams.”
Also as part of the dedication, Whitcomb’s brother, Charles, presented the keys and deed to their family home to the Hayden Museum.
Dudine said the monument is just the first phase of a project that will include a brick patio area and landscaping around the monument and the restoration of the Whitcomb home.
Rodger Ruddick, museum president said originally the idea was to place the monument in Vernon at the courthouse.
“But we thought it would be more appropriate to have it here,” he said.
Now that the museum owns the Whitcomb home, he said plans are to restore the house to what it looked like in 1943.
“That was an important time for the family because they hadn’t heard from Ed in two years, being in the war,” Ruddick said. “Then they get a phone call from him saying he’s coming home.”
Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann attended Saturday’s event and joined the community in paying tribute to its hero.
“As we approach Indiana’s bicentennial in 2016, it is fitting that we remember our past leaders and heroes because each has contributed a very important chapter in Indiana’s history,” she said.
She also said the monument was the perfect way to honor and thank Whitcomb.
“This impressive monument beautifully captures the key chapters in the life of our leader, Gov. Ed Whitcomb, and reminds everyone of his go-for-it life that led him to a prominent place in Indiana history,” she said. “This monument will serve us well as it motivates our next generation of leaders to follow in Ed Whitcomb’s footsteps.”