Marine Corps War Memorial

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 70 years ago
Location	38°53′25.6″N 77°04′11.0″W / 38.890444°N 77.069722°W / 38.890444; -77.069722 near  Washington, D.C.; U.S
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 (Iwo Jima Memorial) is a national memorial located in Arlington Ridge Park in Arlington County, Virginia. The memorial was dedicated in 1954 to all Marines who have given their lives in defense of the United States since 1775.^[1] It is located in Arlington Ridge Park within the George Washington Memorial Parkway,^[2] near the Ord-Weitzel Gate to Arlington National Cemetery and the Netherlands Carillon. The memorial was turned over to the National Park Service in 1955.

The war memorial was inspired by the iconic 1945 photograph of six Marines raising a U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II^[3] taken by Associated Press combat photographer Joe Rosenthal. Upon first seeing the photograph, sculptor Felix de Weldon created a maquette for a sculpture based on the photo in a single weekend at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland, where he was serving in the Navy. He and architect Horace W. Peaslee designed the memorial. Their proposal was presented to Congress, but funding was not possible during the war. In 1947, a federal foundation was established to raise funds for the memorial.