History of the Sculpture from (
visit link) :
When photographer Joe Rosenthal picture of the famous flag raising atop Mount Suribachi was released, sculptor Dr. Felix W. de Weldon, then on duty with the U.S. Navy, was so moved by the scene that he constructed a scale model within 48 hours, which became the symbol for the 7th and final war bond drive.
After the war, Dr. de Weldon felt that the inspiring event should be depicted on a massive scale in our nation’s capital. Over a nine and a half year period, he labored to prepare a working, full sized model from molding plaster. Once the statue was completed in plaster, it was carefully disassembled and trucked to Brooklyn, New York, for casting in bronze. After the three-year casting process, the bronze parts were trucked to Washington, D.C., for erection at Arlington National Cemetery. The plaster working model was moved to Dr. de Weldon’s summer home and studio in Newport, Rhode Island, for storage.
In October 1981, Dr. de Weldon gifted his original, full sized working model to Marine Military Academy as an inspiration to our young cadets. Other major factors involved in his site selection included:
• The fairly constant temperature and humidity in Harlingen were ideal for the preservation of the molding-plaster figures
• The street facing the memorial was appropriately named Iwo Jima Boulevard by MMA’s founders in 1965
• MMA is the only place outside of Washington, D.C., where proper honors are rendered with battalion-size dress blue parades
• The Marine placing the flagpole into the ground was a Rio Grande Valley native, Corporal Harlon H. Block of Weslaco, Texas. Block’s gravesite resides directly behind the monument
Location of statue: Iwo Jima Boulevard, across from the Marine Memorial Visitors Center, Marine Military Academy, Harlingen, Texas
Artist: Felix George Weihs De Weldon (1907-2003), Sculptor; Joseph Rosenthal (1911-2006), Photographer
Proper Description: "A depiction of news photographer Joseph Rosenthal's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of the Marines raising the U.S. flag during World War II on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on February 23, 1945. Five Marines and a Navy Corpsman dressed in uniform stand in various positions as they thrust the flagpole into the slanted volcanic surface, with an unfurled flag at the top. The men depicted are Sgt. Michael Strank, Cpl. Harlon H. Block, Pfc. Franklin R. Sousley, Pfc. Rene A. Gagnon, Pfc. Ira Hayes, and PhM 2/c John H. Bradley, USN. The sculpture is mounted on a multi-sided base and lit with floodlights at night." ~ Smithsonian American Art Museum
Inscription in center of north side of base:Iwo Jima
Uncommon valor
was a
common virtue
1945
Semper Fidelis
Inscription in lower right corner on north side:Felix W. de Weldon
Sculp. 1945-1954
Inscription in center of south side of base:In honor and memory
of the men of the
United States Marine Corps
who have given
their lives to their country
since 10 November 1775
Inscription on the top row of base starting on north side:* Revolutionary War 1775 - 1783
* French Naval War 1798 - 1801
* Tripoli 1801 - 1805
* War of 1812 - 1815
* Florida Indian Wars 1835 - 1842
* Mexico 1846 - 1848
* War Between the States 1864 - 1865
* Spanish War 1898
* Philippine Insurrection 1898 - 1902
* Boxer Rebellion 1906
* Nicaragua 1912
* Vera Cruz 1914
the 'ruz 1914' was missing in Feb.2014* Haiti 1915 - 1934
* Santo Domingo 1916 - 1924
* World War I 1917 - 1918 Belleau Wood Soissons St Mihiel Blanc Mont Meusse-Argonne
* Nicaragua 1926 - 1933
* World War II
1941 Pearl Harbor Wake Island Bataan & Corregidor
1942 Midway Guadalcanal
1943 New Georgia Bougainville Tarawa New Britain
1944 Marshall Islands Marianas Islands Peleliu
1945 Iwo Jima Okinawa
* Korea 1950
Inscription continuing on second row of base starting on north side:* Vietnam * Dominican Republic - 1965
* Lebanon 1981 - 1984
* Grenada 1983
* Persian Gulf 1987 - 1991
* Panama 1988 - 1990
* Somalia 1992 - 1994