In the middle of the esplanade at the center of the town of Cantigny. Statue A large bronze sculpture of a 28th Infantry Regiment Black Lion of Cantigny Doughboy sculpted by Stephen Spears and dedicated on 28 May 2008.  (The pedastal was dedicated on 8 July 2007).  The doughboy is mounted on a black stone pedestal and commemorates the first battle American forces fought and won in Europe during World War I.  

On the morning of May 28th, 1918, the 28th Infantry Regiment, US First Division, American Expeditionary Forces, commanded by COL Hanson E. Ely, conducted the first major American offensive of World War I here at Cantigny.  The rest of the First Division, and French aircraft, artillery, tanks and flamethrowers, supported the attack.  The seizure and defense of Cantigny against determined German opposition proved the worth of the American soldier and bolstered allied morale at a critical time.  Almost 900 members of the regiment were killed or wounded during the four-day battle.  The regiment earned the French Croix de Guerre with Palm and the designation "The Lions of Cantigny".  The regiments crest bears a lion derived from the coat of arms of Picardie.  Dedicated on July 8, 2007 by the 28th Infantry Regiment Association, the McCormick Tribune Foundation, the Cantigny First Division Foundation, and the Village of Cantigny.