Marine Corps War Memorial facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marine Corps War Memorial
United States of America
Marine Corps War Memorial
For the Marine dead of all wars, and their comrades of other services who fell fighting beside them.
Unveiled	November 10, 1954 71 years ago
Location	38°53′25.6″N 77°04′11.0″W / 38.890444°N 77.069722°W / 38.890444; -77.069722 near  Arlington, Virginia
Designed by	Felix de Weldon (sculptor) Horace W. Peaslee (architect)
Uncommon Valor Was A Common Virtue 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

The United States Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial, is a special monument in Arlington, Virginia. It honors all Marines who have died protecting the United States since 1775. The memorial was officially opened in 1954.

You can find it in Arlington Ridge Park, which is part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. It is also close to Arlington National Cemetery. The National Park Service has taken care of the memorial since 1955.

The idea for this memorial came from a famous 1945 photograph. This picture showed six Marines raising a U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi. This happened during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. Joe Rosenthal, an Associated Press photographer, took the photo.

When sculptor Felix de Weldon first saw the picture, he was inspired. He quickly made a small model for a sculpture based on the photo. He was serving in the Navy at the time. Felix de Weldon and architect Horace W. Peaslee designed the memorial. They presented their plan to Congress. However, there was no money for it during the war. In 1947, a special group was formed to collect money for the memorial.

History of the Iwo Jima Memorial

The original 1945 photograph that inspired the memorial.

Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, where the flag was raised.

The main part of the memorial is a huge sculpture. It shows the six Marines raising the second and larger U.S. flag. This happened on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945. The first flag was too small for all the American troops to see. So, a bigger flag was put up instead.

A Marine cameraman, Sergeant Bill Genaust, also filmed the flag-raising. He recorded the event in color while standing next to Joe Rosenthal. His film proved that the flag-raising was real and not set up. Sadly, Sergeant Genaust was killed in Iwo Jima in March 1945. His body was never found.

The Six Flag-Raisers Depicted

The people in Rosenthal's famous photograph are:

• Corporal Harlon Block
• Corporal Harold Keller
• Private First Class Franklin Sousley
• Sergeant Michael Strank
• Private First Class Harold Schultz
• Private First Class Ira Hayes

Building the Memorial

The memorial at night.

Felix de Weldon speaking at the memorial's dedication in 1954.

The United States Congress approved the memorial. The Marine Corps League chose Felix de Weldon as the sculptor in 1951. De Weldon spent three years making a full-sized model out of plaster. The figures in this model were 32 feet (9.8 m) tall.

This huge model was taken apart like a giant puzzle. Each piece was then cast separately in bronze. The base of the memorial is made of black diabase granite. This granite came from a quarry in Sweden. The base has many important words carved into it.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the memorial was on February 19, 1954. This was exactly nine years after the Marines landed on Iwo Jima. Construction of the memorial began in September. The bronze pieces were put together in Brooklyn, New York, for casting. This took about three months.

After casting, the pieces were reassembled into a dozen parts. They were then shipped back to Arlington, Virginia, in a three-truck convoy. A 60 feet (18 m) flagpole was also added. The memorial cost $850,000 in total. This included preparing the site. The money came from donations. Most of the donations were from active duty Marines and Reservists. No government money was used.

Dedication Ceremony

The memorial was officially dedicated on Wednesday, November 10, 1954. This date was the 179th anniversary of the Marine Corps' founding. Many important people were there. These included President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon.

Speeches were given by various officials. General Lemuel Shepherd presented the monument to the American people. A U.S. flag was then raised on the memorial's flagpole. Felix de Weldon also spoke. Vice President Richard Nixon gave the main dedication speech. The ceremony ended with the playing of taps.

Flying the Flag 24 Hours a Day

On June 12, 1961, President John F. Kennedy made a special rule. He said that a Flag of the United States must fly over the memorial 24 hours a day. This is one of the few places where this is required.

The flag used today is a modern one, even though the sculpture shows an event from when the U.S. flag had 48 stars. This is because the memorial honors all Marines who died for the United States, no matter when it happened.

The memorial is on a high ridge. From there, you can see the nation's capital. The Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. uses the memorial for its weekly Sunset Parade. This event features the Drum and Bugle Corps and the Silent Drill Platoon.

Memorial Inscriptions and Meaning

The six Marine flag-raisers shown on the memorial.

The memorial has words carved on its front and back. Around the top of the polished black granite base, there are gold letters. These letters list the date and place of every major action by the United States Marine Corps.

Main Inscriptions

The front (west side) says: "Uncommon Valor Was A Common Virtue" – "Semper Fidelis" (which means "Always Faithful").

The rear (east side) says: "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".

The names of Felix de Weldon and Joe Rosenthal are also carved on the bottom of the front side. Joe Rosenthal's name was added in 1982.

Marker Text

A special marker at the memorial states:

"Dedicated To The Marine Dead Of All Wars, And Their Comrades Of Other Services Who Fell Fighting Beside Them.

Created By Felix De Weldon, And Inspired By The Immortal Photograph Taken By Joseph J. Rosenthal On February 23, 1945, Atop Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands.

Erected By The Marine Corps War Memorial Foundation, With Funds Provided By Marines And Their Friends, And With The Cooperation And Support Of Many Public Officials.

Dedicated, November 10, 1954"

Major Action Inscriptions List

Refurbishment of the Memorial

In 2015, a kind person named David Rubenstein promised over five million dollars. This money was to help clean and fix up the memorial. He made this donation to honor his father, who was a Marine veteran from World War II.

The $5.37 million donation helped clean and wax the statue. It also polished the black granite panels and re-gilded the carved words. The landscaping was improved, and repairs were made to the pavement, lighting, and flagpole.

The National Park Service does regular upkeep. However, this was the first major repair of the memorial since it was built in 1954. The work was done in three stages and finished in 2018.

Other Related Memorials

When the war was happening, there was no government money for sculptures. So, the sculptor Felix de Weldon paid for a concrete version of his design. This smaller statue was displayed in Washington, D.C., for a while. Later, it was stored and then shown in a museum on an aircraft carrier.

There are other memorials and copies of the Iwo Jima statue:

• The original plaster model for the bronze statue is in Harlingen, Texas. It is at the Marine Military Academy, a school for young people inspired by the Marine Corps. This academy is also where Corporal Harlon Block, one of the flag raisers, is buried. He died in action on Iwo Jima.
• A small model is in the lobby of Spruance Hall at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. The sculptor, Felix de Weldon, who lived in Newport, gave it to them.
• Smaller copies are at three Marine bases:
  • At Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.
  • At Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kāne'ohe Bay.
  • At Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina. This copy is made of steel and is one-third the size. It was also sculpted by Weldon. As part of their final training, Marine recruits at Parris Island hike to this statue. They receive their Eagle, Globe and Anchor emblems there, becoming full Marines.
• A similar statue was built in Cape Coral, Florida, in 1964.
• A bronze relief (a type of sculpture) of the memorial was placed near St. Nicholas's Chapel at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland in 1973.
• A version of the memorial is at the Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. It was dedicated for the 50th anniversary of World War II.
• A similar design is used for the National Iwo Jima Memorial in Newington, Connecticut. This memorial was dedicated in 1995 to the 6,821 U.S. servicemen who died in the battle.
• A copy was dedicated in Fall River's Bicentennial Park in 2005.
• The tilted spire above the National Museum of the Marine Corps looks like the original sculpture.
• A wooden cutout version can be found along Highway 62 near Twentynine Palms, California.
• There is an Iwo Jima Sculpture and Memorial Wall at Foster Park in Young Harris, Georgia.

See also

In Spanish: Memorial de Guerra del Cuerpo de Marines de Estados Unidos para niños

• Iron Mike
• National Museum of the Marine Corps
• United States Navy Memorial
• List of national memorials of the United States