Iwo Jima Memorial Monument, (sculpture).

Iwo Jima Memorial Monument, (sculpture).

Petrovics, Joseph, sculptor.

Sculpture House Casting, contractor.

Modern Art Foundry, founder.

Iwo Jima Memorial Monument, (sculpture).

1992-1994. Dedicated Feb. 23, 1995.

Sculpture: bronze with green patina; Base: concrete with granite facing.

Sculpture: approx. 31 x 13 x 8 ft.: Base: approx. 9 x 15 x 10 ft.

(On front of base:) BATTLE FOR IWO JIMA, WORLD WAR II/CONNECTICUT MEN KILLED IN ACTION/(100 names in 3 columns of 35, 33, 32) (At bottom of south column:) Uncommon valor was a common virtue/Adm. Chester Nimitz (South face of base:) THE ASSAULT ON/IWO JIMA/FEBRUARY 1945 (MAP) 'BY THEIR VICTORY, THE 3RD, 4TH, & 5TH MARINE DIVISIONS/AND OTHER UNITS OF THE V AMPH. CORPS HAVE MADE/AN ACCOUNTING TO THEIR COUNTRY WHICH ONLY/ HISTORY WILL BE ABLE TO VALUE FULLY.'/ADM. CHESTER NIMITZ (South face of base:) "IWO JIMA--AN INFERNO/OF HEARTBREAK AND/HEROISM AND MANKIND'S/EPIC FINALE OF HAND/TO HAND COMBAT./NOW IT BELONGS TO/HISTORY."/DAVID DOUGLAS DUNCAN

(East face of base:) MT. SURIBACHI/1st FLAG RAISING (6 names) (East face of base, center section:) WWII - FEB. 25, 1945/IWO JIMA FLAG RAISING - MT. SURIBACHI/BATTLE FOR IWO JIMA - FEBRUARY 19, 1945 - MAR. 16, 1945/6824 AMERICANS KILLED IN BATTLE/21865 AMERICAN CASUALTIES/27 CONGRESSIONAL MEDALS OF HONOR/AWARDED. MORE THAN WERE AWARDED/TO MARINES AND NAVY IN ANY/OTHER BATTLE IN OUR COUNTRY'S HISTORY (East face, north section:) THIS MEMORIAL MONUMENT WAS ERECTED BY THE/IWO JIMA SURVIVORS ASSN. OF CONNECTICUT, INC.,/IN TRIBUTE TO AND IN MEMORY OF ALL OF OUR/COMRADES WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE/IN THE BATTLE OF IWO JIMA./IT WAS CONCEIVED BY DR. GEORGE GENTILE,/FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT. HIS IDEA CAME TO FRUITION/THROUGH HIS LEADERSHIP AND THE DEDICATED/SUPPORT AND FUND RAISING EFFORTS OF THE/MEMBERS, AND THROUGH THE GENEROSITY AND/PATRIOTISM OF THE THOUSANDS OF CITIZENS WHO/MADE CONTRIBUTIONS./DEDICATED FEBRUARY 25TH, 1995./THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FLAG RAISING/AT IWO JIMA, AND PRESENTED FOR POSTERITY TO/THE CITIZENS OF THE STATE BY/THE IWO JIM SURVIVORS ASSN.

(North face: image of the second flag raising as the first flag is coming down on Mt. Suribachi) MT. SURIBACHI FLAG RAISING/RAISING LARGER FLAG AND SIMULTANEOUSLY/LOWERING SMALLER FIRST FLAG RAISED/FEB. 23, 1945/(6 NAMES) (statement regarding source of rocks and sand) (North face:) "THE BATTLE OF IWO JIMA/IS ONE OF THE GREAT EPICS/IN ALL MILITARY ANNALS."/LEON URIS "VICTORY WAS NEVER IN DOUBT. WHAT/WAS IN DOUBT IN ALL OUR MINDS/WAS WHETHER THERE WOULD BE ANY/OF US LEFT TO DEDICATE OUR CEMETERY/AT THE END OR WHETHER THE LAST/MARINE WOULD DIE KNOCKING OUT THE/LAST JAPANESE GUN AND GUNNER."/MAJ. GEN. GRAVES B. ERSKINE

The monument depicts six heroic-sized military figures raising a real American flag atop Mt. Suribachi during the battle on Iwo Jima. The bronze sculpture rises from a field of rocks from Mt. Suribachi, set atop a wedge-shaped base trimmed with Vermont gray granite. A section of the base is concrete, covered with polished black Indian granite and a listing of the names of 100 men enlisted from Connecticut who perished in the battle. Sand from Iwo Jima is incorporated in the concrete mix. Two panels occupy the south side of the base; three panels are on the east side; two on the north.

The monument is part of a larger park setting. A walkway of granite pavers leads to the memorial. At the start of the walkway is a stele listing contributors to the memorial. To the north, a stone found on the site, close to the shape of Iwo Jima Island, supports a metal map depicting the action of the battle.

History -- United States -- World War II

Outdoor Sculpture -- Connecticut -- Newington

Administered by Iwo Jima Survivors Association, Inc., P. O. Box 310516, Newington, Connecticut 06131

Located Iwo Jima Survivors' Memorial Park, Eastern end, on grounds of Central Connecticut State University-New Britian, Newington, Connecticut

The Iwo Jim Survivors Association, Inc. (founded in 1987 by Dr. George G. Gentile of Newington, CT) contracted with Sculpture House Casting, who commissioned Petrovics to do the sculpture. The sculpture is based on the historic photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal of the flag raising on Mt. Suribachi on Feb. 23, 1945. The sculpture is similar to, but differs from the Iwo Jima group in Arlington, Virginia. The weapons, cartridge belt, helmets, etc., were reproduced from originals actually used in battle and given to the artist by the Iwo Jima Survivors Association. The monument was erected by the efforts of the association, which raised $250,000 over five years through public subscription, and equivalent contributions in kind of time and materials. The monmument was dedicated Feb. 23, 1995, the 50th anniversary of the historic flag raising. On Memorial Day, 1995, a list of 6,821 men killed in action at Iwo Jima was placed in a vault at the east side of the monument, marked by a bronze plaque.

The monument is located at the eastern end of Iwo Jima Survivor's Memorial Park, a one-acre parcel of land sited close to the Iwo Jima Memorial Expresseway, which is a section of Route 9. The land is part of the grounds of Central Connecticut State University, New Britain. The New Britain/Newington town line bisects the park. For further reading on the monument see: The Hartford Courant, Feb. 24, 1994, pg. C9; and The Stars & Stripes, Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 1995.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Connecticut survey, 1995.

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