In memory of our fallen soldiers, a story about the sculptor Flex de Welden and the creation of the Iwo
Six Marines and one Navy corpsman hoisting the flag and planting it into the rocky volcanic ground on February 23, 1945.
I had the privilege of spending a day with the internationally renowned sculptor, Felix de Weldon in Newport, Rhode Island, where he lived and had his studio many years ago; it comes to mind as Memorial Day approaches. Felix de Weldon’s sculpture of marines raising our flag on Iwo Jima after the United States took control of the island would become one of the most iconic images of symbol of freedom and those who fought to preserve and guard it. The sculpture sits on the edge of Arlington National Cemetery: dominating the skyline. The image captures one of the defining moments of World War II. The statue is the largest bronze statue in the world at 78 feet tall and weighing 100 tons. The figures are armed with either a 16-foot-long M-1 Garand rifle or a 12-foot-long M-1 carbine. Their combat knives are 5½ feet long and their helmets are 3½ feet in diameter. The statue rests on a 700-ton concrete base surrounded by 389 tons of highly polished Bonaccord black granite from Sweden.
Gordon Lewis with Felix de Weldon
Joseph Rosenthal, a military photographer during the war, was on assignment on Iwo Jima when a platoon of 40 men finally secured Mount Suribachi, one of the Japanese strongholds. Rosenthal learned that the American flag was to be raised in victory but arrived too late. He noticed that a second flag was being raised – it was this scene that he captured. Six Marines and one Navy corpsman hoisting the flag and planting it into the rocky volcanic ground on February 23, 1945. This photograph was used on the front page of every major newspaper in America and in the windows of retail establishments – every American soon knew the image.
Felix de Weldon was inspired by Rosenthal’s photograph and made a model of the scene while he was serving in the U.S. Navy. The model, carved in limestone standing nine feet tall, is now at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia. He was commissioned by the U.S. Congress in 1951 to create a bronze sculpture of his model, faithful to Rosenthal’s photograph. It was dedicated on November 10, 1954 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower at Arlington Cemetery where it still stands. The sculpture is the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial dedicated to “the Marine dead of all wars and their comrades of other services who fell fighting beside them.”
Felix de Weldon
It has often been questioned how Iwo Jima; 12 square miles of remote island could be so important. It is one of a chain of small islands which were necessary to establish air bases close enough to the Japanese mainland that Japan could be reached by airstrikes. It was from these islands that “Fat Boy” and “Little Boy” (the first nuclear bombs ever used in combat) were launched against Japan with such devastating effect that they essentially ended the war. Japan sued for peace within days averting other planned attacks which would have killed more untold thousands.
President John F. Kennedy issued a proclamation on June 12, 1961 that the American flag should fly over the memorial 24 hours a day, one of the few official sites where this is required.
The six flag raisers were: Corporal Harlon Block, Private First-Class Rene Gagnon, Private First-Class Ira Hayes, Private First-Class Harold Schultz, Private First Class Franklin Sousley, and Sergeant Michael Strank.
Three of the six flag raisers died on Iwo Jima. Three others posed for de Welden while he was creating the sculpture. However, John Bradley, who posed for de Welden, was thought to be one of the three, but after extensive research by the Pentagon, it was discovered that Bradley was one of the flag raisers of the first flag raising and not the second one which was Rosenthal’s photograph. The six flag raisers were: Corporal Harlon Block, Private First-Class Rene Gagnon, Private First-Class Ira Hayes, Private First-Class Harold Schultz, Private First Class Franklin Sousley, and Sergeant Michael Strank.
During a career that spanned more than 70 years, De Weldon created more than 1,200 public monuments on seven continents, including a monument of Adm. Richard E. Byrd at McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. de Weldon is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, not far from his famous sculpture that is now one of the greatest symbols of defending freedom.
U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial — with U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial).
On Memorial Day we honor the fallen that gave their lives while serving in the United States Armed Forces. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday. So, it is on this day to contemplate the sacrifices made and the extraordinary talent of Felix de Weldon who realized the flag raising in an enduring material, bronze, that underscores the significance of the moment. I will always treasure the memory of the day I spent with him.
Gordon Lewis, The Fine Arts Conservancy.