History
In 1951, work commenced on creating a cast bronze memorial based on the photo, with the figures 32 feet (9.8 m) tall and the flagpole 60 feet (18 m) long. The granite base of the memorial bears two inscriptions:
- "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"
- "Uncommon Valor Was a Common Virtue." This is a tribute by Admiral Chester Nimitz to the fighting men on Iwo Jima.
The location and date of every major Marine Corps engagement up to the present are inscribed around the base of the memorial. The base is made entirely in the deep black diabase of Lönsboda, a small town and a quarry in the southernmost province of Sweden.
The memorial was officially dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on November 10, 1954, the 179th anniversary of the Marine Corps. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued a proclamation that a Flag of the United States should fly from the memorial 24 hours a day, one of the few official sites where this is required.
The Marines of Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. use the memorial as a centerpiece of the weekly Sunset Parade featuring the Drum and Bugle Corps and by the Silent Drill Platoon.
Read more about this topic: Marine Corps War Memorial
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