Undergraduates at the University of Virginia eventually come across Clemons Library on grounds, with its media center and learning commons, just paces away from the main research library. Outside the main entrance to Clemons stands a bronze figure rooted to a granite foundation but getting ready to soar on fashioned wings. This dramatic monument remembers a student, James Rogers McConnell, who died as a volunteer pilot for France during the early years of the First World War, before America had joined the conflict. The statue, created by the famous Gutzon Borglum in 1919, signified a great deal to the alumni and administrators who commissioned it, and it continues to have meaning for the university today. This paper examines McConnell’s actions that made him an important alumnus, the history of the decision to build a monument to him, and the situation in Charlottesville at the time that made the death of the pilot worthy of such a statue. Along the way, the paper argues that American concerns about the war made people eager to see the brave airman as a model for young college students, and that interest in supporting France meant that many saw encouraging volunteers for war as a positive form of propaganda. On the ground in Charlottesville, however, other concerns about the role of the university in Virginia and the nation meant that the statue became part of another level of messaging to tell the people of the town that young UVA students like McConnell had done great things and would continue to do more, helping to shape America. In some ways, this promise of success came with the understanding that others, unlike McConnell, would not have the chance to share in the status and opportunities offered to the elites studying at the University of Virginia.