ATTENTION! "Stand for the Flag," which portrays a disabled veteran, has been purchased for permanent display at American Legion Post 53 in Eau Claire.

The statue of a disabled veteran will now stand at attention permanently outside the American Legion on Water Street.

Just days before Veterans Day, American Legion Post 53 celebrate a public dedication ceremony for the bronze sculpture, “Stand for the Flag,” which has stood outside the Legion hall at 634 Water St., Eau Claire, for several years.

The bronze statue, created by South Dakota sculptors Lee Leuning and Sherri Treeby, originally came to town in 2022 as part of the Eau Claire Sculpture Tour. While pieces in the Sculpture Tour typically rotate between cities every year or two, “Stand for the Flag” was the subject of a successful $50,000 community fundraising campaign to purchase it for permanent display.

“(The artist’s) heart was in this, and I’m glad we’re the benefactors of that and able to share this with the community forever,” Brad Venaas, adjutant of Post 53, told WEAU 13 News on Nov. 8.

Artists Leuning and Treeby have also created several other pieces that were originally part of the Sculpture Tour, including “Hey, Mary Lou” (which portrays football players and stands outside the Eau Claire YMCA), “Granny’s Garden” (next to the farmers market pavilion in Phoenix Park), and “Maestro” (which includes a xylophone and melodic chimes at the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire).

Learn more about the Sculpture Tour Eau Claire at visiteauclaire.com/sculpture-tour.