Iwo Jima Memorial

The Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima memorial, is a testament to the lives of all US Marine Corps members who gave their lives in defense of the Nation since 1775. The bronze statue of five Marines and one Sailor raising the flag is directly modeled upon AP news-photographer Joe Rosenthal’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph from the bloody WWII Battle of Iwo Jima, taken on February 23, 1945. Sculpted by Felix de Weldon starting in 1945 and designed by Horace W. Peaslee, the casting of the bronze alone took almost three years. The memorial was dedicated by President Eisenhower in 1954. It stands in Arlington, Virginia, next to the Arlington National Cemetery.

• The Battle of Iwo Jima was the only battle in WWII where American casualties were greater than Japanese casualties
• By a proclamation issued by President Kennedy in 1961, the Marine Corps War Memorial is one of the only places where the US flag is officially displayed 24 hours a day

For more information, visit the official website at
http://www.mbw.usmc.mil/mcm_historydefault.asp and http://www.nps.gov/archive/gwmp/usmc.htm.