The United States Marine Corps War Memorial, (sculpture).

The United States Marine Corps War Memorial, (sculpture).

De Weldon, Felix George Weihs, 1907-2003, sculptor.

Field, Edward F., architect.

Peaslee, Horace W., 1884- , designer.

Rosenthal, Joe, 1911-2006, photographer. (copy after)

Bedi-Rassy Art Foundry, founder.

The United States Marine Corps War Memorial, (sculpture).

Iwo Jima Monument, (sculpture).

Master model completed June 1951. Dedicated Nov. 10, 1954.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: cast bronze, bolted and welded, Swedish black granite, lead pipe, and a flag; Base: polished Swedish black granite.

Sculpture: approx. H. 68 ft.; Base: approx. H. 10 ft. (100 tons).

(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

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.

History -- United States -- World War II

History -- United States -- Military history

Portrait male -- Strank, Michael -- Full length

Portrait male -- Block, Harlon Henry -- Full length

Portrait male -- Gagnon, Rene Arthur -- Full length

Portrait male -- Hayes, Ira Hamilton -- Full length

Portrait male -- Bradley, John -- Full length

Portrait male -- Sousley, Franklin Runyon -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- Marine

Occupation -- Military -- Sailor

Ethnic -- Indian -- Pima

History -- United States -- Flag

Landscape -- Mountain -- Mt. Suribachi

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Outdoor Sculpture -- Virginia -- Arlington

Administered by United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, District of Columbia

Located North of Arlington Cemetery, junction of Arlington Boulevard & Ridge Road, Arlington, Virginia

Honors all Marines who have given their lives for the United States. The cost of the sculpture and developing the memorial site was $850,000, all donated by U.S. Marines, former Marines, Marine Corps Reservists, friends of the Marine Corps, and members of the Naval Service. No public funds were used. The sculpture is based on a photograph taken by Joseph Rosenthal on the day the Marines raised the flag on Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi, Feb. 23, 1945. The photograph won a Pulitzer Prize and inspired the sculptor, who was serving in the Navy at the time. The men depicted are five Marines and one Navy Corpsman assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division. The six men shown are: Sgt. Michael Strank (later killed in action in northern Iwo); Cp. Harlon Henry Block (born 1924 and killed in action six days after the flag raising); Cpl. Rene Arthur Gagnon (born 1925); Cpl. Ira Hamilton Hayes (a Pima Indian, born 1923); John Bradley, Pharmacist's Mate 2nd Class (born 1923; wounded in later fighting on Iwo); and Pfc. Franklin Runyon Sousley (born 1925 and later killed in action on Iwo Jima during mop-up operations).

The sculptor created thirty-six studies for the sculpture before completing the master model in June 1951. The figures for the sculpture were modeled in the nude, then draped. The faces of the three members of the group who survived were modeled in clay, with the three deceased members modeled from photographs. The casting process took nearly three years to complete. The monument was dedicated on Nov. 10, 1954, the 179th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps. The inscription on the base "Uncommon valor was a common virtue," is the tribute of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz to the fighting men of Iwo Jima. A cloth flag flies on the sculpture's flagpole twenty-four hours a day in accordance with a Presidential proclamation of June 12, 1961. IAS files contain transcriptions of nearby plaques and a National Park Service brochure.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Virginia survey, 1995.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 189-190.

Michael Richman, SAAM curatorial assistant, 1967-1969.

Dupre, Judith, "Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory," New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 2007, pg. 128-129.

Goode, James M., "The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, D.C., A Comprehensive Historical Guide," Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1974, pg. 189, E-7.

Dupre, Judith, "Monuments: America's History in Art and Memory," New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 2007, pg. 129.

For model see: TX000729.

For model see: 75005917.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

Control Number:

Horizon Information Portal 3.25_9382

Powered by SirsiDynix

About | © 2020 Smithsonian | Terms of Use | Privacy | Contact

SIRIS - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System