Sergeant Michael Strank et al. - Arlington, VA
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 38° 53.427 W 077° 04.187
18S E 320489 N 4306655
The United States Marine Corps War Memorial features depictions of six members of the military: Sergeant Michael Strank, Corporal Harlon Block, Private First Class Rene Gagnon, Private First Class Ira Hayes, Private First Class Franklin Sousley, and Pharmacist Mate Second Class John Bradley (USN).
Waymark Code: WMN4C7
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 12/24/2014
Views: 13
The Smithsonian Inventory (
visit link) provides the following descriptive information:
"Medium:
Sculpture: cast bronze, bolted and welded, Swedish black granite, lead pipe, and a flag; Base: polished Swedish black granite.
Dimensions:
Sculpture: approx. H. 68 ft.; Base: approx. H. 10 ft. (100 tons).
Inscription:
(Copyright symbol) FELIX W DEWELDON SCULP. 1945-1954 (All inscriptions burnished in gold) (Front 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 (Back of base, on gold laurel wreath:) UNCOMMON/VALOR/WAS A COMMON/VIRTUE/(on ribbon beneath laurel wreath) "SEMPER FIDELIS" (Circling top of base is a list of every principal Marine engagement with names and dates from "Revolutionary War 1775-1783" to "Grenada 1983") signed
Description:
A depiction of news photographer Joseph Rosenthal's Pulitizer Prize-winning photograph of the Marines raising the U.S. flag during World War II on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945. Five Marines and one Navy Corpsman, dressed in uniform, stand in various positions as they thrust the flagpole upward upon the slanted volcanic surface of Mount Suribachi, with a flag furling at the top. The sculpture is mounted upon an inscribed, irregular octagon base."
Wikipedia's article on the Memorial
(
visit link) informs us:
"The Marine Corps War Memorial (also called the Iwo Jima Memorial) is a United States military monument outside the walls of Arlington National Cemetery and next to the Netherlands Carillon, in Arlington Ridge Park, Arlington, Virginia. The memorial is dedicated to all personnel of the United States Marine Corps who have died in the defense of the United States since 1775.
The memorial features the statues of the six servicemen who raised the second U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II, on February 23, 1945, five Marines and one Navy corpsman: Sergeant Michael Strank, Corporal Harlon Block, Private First Class Rene Gagnon, Private First Class Ira Hayes, Private First Class Franklin Sousley, and Pharmacist Mate Second Class John Bradley (USN).
The design of the massive sculpture by Felix de Weldon was based on the iconic photograph of the raising of the second flag (replaced smaller flag) on Mount Suribachi by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal. Upon first seeing the photograph in 1945, de Weldon created his maquette for the sculpture, a wax model of the image, during a single weekend. It was presented at Congress to encourage funding.
Funding was not possible during the war. In 1947 a federal foundation was established to raise funds for the bronze statue proposed by de Weldon."