After years of planning, fundraising, and more than a little uncertainty, a nine-foot bronze tribute to Eatonton native and Tuskegee Airman Hiram Little is standing tall in his hometown, ready for its public reveal.
Created by internationally renowned sculptor Basil Watson, the statue was affixed Monday morning to a 4-foot granite base at Eatonton’s Veterans Wall of Honor Park.
The 11 a.m. ceremony on Sept.
30 (past press time) is expected to draw Little family members, state and local government officials, students, residents, and veterans throughout Lake Country.
For Watson, seeing the finished sculpture leave the solitude of his Atlanta studio and settle into its permanent home represented the end of an artistic process that stretched past five years.
“It really feels special,” Watson said shortly after witnessing the installation. “It’s done in the quiet, in the solitary confines of my studio. And the focus is on the work, the task at hand. But when it comes out of the studio, it’s like giving birth.”
Getting the statue into place required some heavy lifting of a more literal kind.
Sam Chandran, owner of Granite World LLC in Elberton, delivered and installed the monument with his son, Jonathan, and helper Dylan Smith.
A structural engineer who specializes in large custom stone projects and memorials, Chandran said the granite base weighs about 7,000 pounds. The statue weighs less than 800 pounds, Watson said.
For a company accustomed to handling stone pieces up to 30,000 pounds, the Eatonton installation was relatively straightforward, Chandran added.
“Normally I get the big cranes out,” he said. “But for this, the little pickup truck is fine.”
Watching the statue finally being lowered into place was more emotional for Kevin Tomson-Hooper, who spearheaded efforts to move the project from concept to reality. He admitted, though, that he sometimes wondered if it would ever become reality.
“There were times I was almost embarrassed to call Basil and say, ‘Nothing’s really happening,’” Tomson-Hooper recalled. “I think there was even one day I told him, ‘I don’t know if we’re going to be able to do this.’” Meanwhile, Watson remained confident and committed.
“He said, ‘You know what? I’m not going anywhere. This story’s got to be told,’” Tomson-Hooper said.
Tomson-Hooper found Watson after seeking advice from University of Georgia professor and artist Joseph Norman, who researched about 17 sculptors before narrowing the choices and recommending Watson.
Funding took longer. Tomson-Hooper credited numerous local supporters, but singled out Farmers & Merchants Bank owner Chip Benton for helping to ensure the effort succeeded.
The project also drew Nikki Barker into the planning. An Iraq War veteran and manager of the Eatonton Veterans Thrift Store, Barker got involved less than a year ago, serving primarily as a liaison with Veterans Wall of Honor Park while helping to prepare for the unveiling ceremony.
Barker added she felt the project carried significance for all local veterans.
“I’m very, very proud and honored to share the history of this in our town,” she said. “It’s a beautiful addition to Eatonton and to the Veterans Park.”
The park itself received substantial improvements in preparation for the monument’s installation and unveiling. Tomson-Hooper said Putnam County crews were “very helpful” with painting, electrical work for new lighting, and installation of a tall flagpole opposite the new monument. It now flies a U.S. flag with a Tuskegee Airmen flag below.
Wednesday’s ceremony is expected to bring several generations together. Tomson-Hooper said up to 30 of Little’s relatives are expected, as well as local middle and high school history students. For Watson, those students may ultimately be the monument’s most important audience. He hopes the statue becomes more than something people simply pass by while traveling into downtown Eatonton.
“Hopefully, it helps people connect with themselves and their sense of identity and community, and the diversity within the community,” Watson said.
Meeting Little’s relatives while creating the sculpture reinforced that purpose, he added. Watson said some family members became emotional during a studio visit when they discussed Little, who they remembered as a humble man. Watson said he suspected Little’s extended family did not know the full extent of what he experienced and accomplished as a Tuskegee Airman.
Now, Watson believes, that story has a permanent home.
“This is built to stand for decades, maybe even centuries, and we will be forgotten, but Hiram won’t,” he said. “And his little acts of bravery and courage and heroism, I hope, will continue to inspire.”