Gerhold Concrete Sponsors Sculpture for 2023 Norfolk Sculpture Walk

By McKayla Vermeer | Lyman-Richey Corporation

Just one block north of a Norfolk, Neb., downtown street, a bronze likeness of a soldier stands tall, clutching a crutch in his left hand and giving a salute with his right.

This is “Stand for the Flag,” the sculpture Gerhold Concrete is sponsoring at this year’s Norfolk Sculpture Walk.

For years Gerhold has donated its time and materials to the Arts Council in Norfolk to serve as the base pads for sculptures in the town’s annual Sculpture Walk.

Dave Keller, Estimator and Sales Representative for Gerhold, has been involved in making the concrete pads for the past five years. He’s also on the Board of Directors for the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce Builder’s Exchange and says playing a role in the community is important to him.

“We take pride in being active in the communities we work in,” Keller said.

While the sculpture is new to Norfolk, the inspiration and process behind the work was actually years in the making.

Sculptor Lee Leuning said he was at a 2001 sculpture unveiling and celebration for veterans of World War II at the South Dakota state capitol when inspiration struck.

“All the vets had places of honor lined up along Capitol Avenue in front of the Capitol,” Leuning said. “There was a big parade and a lot of the vets came from Fort Meade [VA Medical Center].”

One man in particular that stood out.

“He was bedridden, he was in a portable hospital gurney, and every time a flag would come down [at the parade] he had the orderly that was with him help him get out of bed and he stood at crisp attention and saluted the flag.”

Leuning said that while every veteran there saluted the flag, this man impressed him the most and stuck with him throughout all these years.

“There must’ve been a dozen flags that day that each time he crawled out of that…gurney bed and saluted the flag,” Leuning said.

When creating the sculpture itself, Leuning used a friend and former Navy SEAL as his model. With all the highly realistic details in the work, the face of the soldier is where Leuning’s skill shines through.

“His face is meant to convey two things: a sense of fierce pride in his flag and his country, and also tears that are almost coming out of his eyes at the memory of his lost comrades,” Leuning said.

Leuning helped form the art studio Bad River Artworks in South Dakota, where he lives and works as an artist, specializing in bronze sculptures. His sculptures can be found across the country at various sculpture walks, memorials, and many other locations.

“Stand for the Flag” is just one sculpture being displayed in Norfolk this year as a part of the organization Sculpture Walk Across Nebraska, which aims to add attractions and art to cities in Nebraska.

You can find “Stand for the Flag” at 309 Braasch Ave. in Norfolk and it is currently available for purchase.