Washington DC: Marine Corp Memorial
Adjacent to the Netherlands Carillon and the tulip gardens is the Marine Corps War Memorial.
Dedicated to all Marines who have lost their life in the service to their country, this statue commemorates one of the most famous events of World War II, raising the flag on Iwo Jima.
The flag raising was originally captured in a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph, and was the basis for the sculpture. The figures stand 32 feet high, and are shown raising a 60-foot flagpole. By Presidential Proclamation, a cloth flag flies 24 hours a day from the flagpole. At the base of the memorial is a listing of the names and dates of every major Marine Corp engagement since the Corps’ founding, as well as the inscription: “Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue.”
No public funds were used for this memorial, the entire costs having been donated by Marines, former Marines, reservists, members of the Navy, and friends of the Corps.
The memorial, officially dedicated by President Eisenhower on November 10, 1954, the 179th anniversary of the Marine Corps, is a part of the National Park Service.
Photo credit: Jon Rochetti, c. 2006
Tags: american-history, arlington-cemetery, flight+attendants, travel, washington+dc, washington+dc-netherlands-carillon
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POSTED IN: Things to See & Do
1 opinion for Washington DC: Marine Corp Memorial
Gonzalo Reyes, USMC
Sep 18, 2008 at 9:36 pm
To the young lady in the picture above. Thank You for visiting
the Marine Memorial!!
God Bless the Marines!!
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