Iwo Jima Memorial
by Jurgen Lorenzen
Title
Iwo Jima Memorial
Artist
Jurgen Lorenzen
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The original sculpture of the Iwo Jima Memorial, that is in Arlington Cemetery in Washington DC, is in Harlingen at the Marine Military Academy and Iwo Jima Memorial Museum. This is the clay sculpture that the bronze statue in Arlington Cemetery was made from.
The detail is awesome! Even the cloth weave is visible in the soldiers' clothes and web belts.
Sculptor Dr. Felix W. de Weldon, then on duty with the U.S. Navy, was so moved by the Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal flag raising Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph that he constructed a scale model within 48 hours, which became the symbol for the 7th and final war bond drive. After the war, Dr. de Weldon felt that the inspiring event should be depicted on a massive scale in our nation’s capital.
He labored for 9.5 years to prepare a working, full-sized model from molding plaster of the survivors of the flag raising (the others having been killed in the later phases of the Iwo Jima battle) posed for the sculptor, who modeled their faces in clay. All available pictures and physical statistics of the three who had given their lives were collected and then used in the modeling of their faces.
Once the statue was completed in plaster, it was carefully disassembled and trucked to Brooklyn, N.Y., for casting in bronze. After the three-year casting process, the bronze parts were trucked to Washington, D.C., for erection at Arlington National Cemetery. The plaster working model was moved to Dr. de Weldon’s summer home and studio in Newport, R.I., for storage.
In October 1981, Dr. de Weldon gifted his original, full sized working model to Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas, as an inspiration to our young cadets.
The Marine placing the flagpole into the ground was a South Texas native, Cpl Harlon H. Block of Weslaco, Texas. Block’s gravesite resides directly behind the monument.
Uploaded
February 5th, 2020
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Viewed 904 Times - Last Visitor from Pharr, TX on 03/27/2024 at 3:46 AM
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Comments (23)
VIVA Anderson
Kudos, Jurgen for this Wonderful image, and your equal 1st US FLAGS contest.......FAV.........VIVA
Rachel Morrison
Incredibly moving capture. Congratulations on your 1st Place Win in the US Flags Photography Only contest! LF/Voted
Catherine Sherman
Jurgen, Congratulations on your First Place win (3-way tie) in the US Flags contest on 7/4/23 in the "USA Photographers Only" group.
Jurgen Lorenzen
A Big Thank You to the collector from Denver, CO for the purchase of a 30" x 20" framed print. I hope you will enjoy this patriotic image for many years to come!
Jennifer Jenson
So beautifully captured! Looks amazing against the beautiful sky with that sunburst!
Kathi Isserman
It is my pleasure to inform you that your AWESOME photo is FEATURED on the HOMEPAGE OF "SHOWCASING THE SOUTH GROUP"! L Please add the photo to the 2021 “FEATURED IMAGE ARCHIVE THREAD.” Thank you for participating in the group.