Kossuth County Freedom Rock - Whittemore, IA
Posted by: 
wanderfish
N 43° 03.829 W 094° 25.509
15T E 383957 N 4768887
This large boulder is part of the Iowa Freedom Rock Tour. There is One large boulder in every Iowa county, painted in honor of US Veterans. The first rock was painted in 1999 & is the only one the artist repaints annually.
Waymark Code: WM17E0A
Location: Iowa, United States
Date Posted: 02/04/2023
Views: 1
The following description is in the Artist's own words:
source: (visit link)
"There is a strong American Legion in Whittemore and I got to meet many of its great members. We all shared some stories in the Legion after some long days of painting... thanks for the fun times. And big thank you to the ladies who made sure I had snacks to make it through those long days.
When I saw the shape of this rock, I immediately thought of Iwo Jima... it's such an iconic photo and even though it is of Marines and a Navy Medic, I feel it represents all who've fought for our country and the struggle to keep the flag flying free. I paired it with a quote from Winston Churchill which reads " Never was so much owed by so many to so few."
The backside of the rock is in honor of our Gold Star Mothers. It is so heart wrenching to see a folded flag handed to a mother and I wanted to honor that loss of life... and the loved ones left behind. Above the funeral is a Bamboo Bomber, reason being, there is a guy in Whittemore that has restored and does flyovers with that plane... he even gave me a flyover, very cool!
The eagle and flag, a couple of my fav's to paint, adorn the rest of the rock."
Inspired by the movie, Saving Private Ryan, Greenfield artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II began painting a large rock north of Greenfield in 1999, when he was 19. Sorensen wanted to give veterans a unique recognition on Memorial Day to say “thank you” to our nation’s veterans and to honor their service to our country. It has become known as The Freedom Rock® and he repaints it each year in time for Memorial Day. Since painting the original Freedom Rock®, Sorensen has been on a mission to create a Freedom Rock® in each of Iowa’s 99 counties. Sorenson’s work is known internationally, and he has painted patriotic murals throughout the United States. To find out about the Freedom Rocks® in other Iowa counties, visit the official Freedom Rock® website. (
visit link)
"Bubba" is now focusing on completing a Freedom Rock in all 50 states! Besides Iowa, there is now a Freedom Rock in Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska North Dakota, Oklahoma & Washington. He is booked to complete one in Texas and Ohio.
During the winter months Sorensen can be found painting indoor murals (or in warm climates outdoor murals). He is also an Iowa Legislator and works for House District 23 at the State Capitol from January through the end of session in April/May (usually).
We stumbled across a Freedom Rock for the first time by accident once several years ago while geocaching. Now, we actively seek them out when we travel to Iowa. The Freedom Rock is surrounded by a purple heart sidewalk ribbon and several small, colorful murals depicting scenes with veterans, honoring all branches of the military.