In this series, I am providing pictures of tombstones from Latvian cemeteries, all with death dates prior to 1945. In this case, I do have more information on the individual, see this Wikipedia article. This grave also appears to have been desecrated during the Soviet period – see the torn spot in the middle, it is likely that there was a photograph of him or a Latvian patriotic symbol of some kind.
Photo taken by me, October 2012. Click to enlarge.
Top Inscription: “Neviens upuris savas dzimtenes dēļ latvietim nav par dÄrgu” (“No sacrifice for the homeland is too dear for a Latvian”)
Name: Vilis Olavs, born 1867, died 1917
Location: Meža kapi, Rīga (though he was originally buried in Vyborg where he had died, and was reburied in Rīga in 1921)
The bronze portrait on the monument , created by sculptor B. Dzenis, a student of Rodin ,was chiseled out by drug addicts searching for scrap metal to sell in 2010.
Vilis Olavs’ grand children commissioned sculptor Janis Strupulis to create another bronze portrait which is now in place.