6 Marines Raised a Flag on Iwo Jima — Only 3 Saw the Arlington Memorial They Inspired

U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, Arlington VA

A newspaper photo from a bloody Pacific battle became the most famous war photo ever taken. That single moment, captured in 1945, would later rise 78 feet into the Virginia sky as pure bronze.

This is how six men raising a flag became a national symbol.

The Historic Photograph That Inspired a Monument

Joe Rosenthal didn’t expect to make history on February 23, 1945. The Associated Press photographer just happened to be in the right spot with his camera ready. Six Marines were raising a replacement flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

His photograph hit Sunday newspapers across America two days later, and a war-weary nation embraced the image of victory.

Courage Forever Cast in Bronze

Their names were Harlon Block, Harold Keller, Ira Hayes, Harold Schultz, Franklin Sousley, and Michael Strank. Six ordinary men frozen in an extraordinary act.

Block, Sousley, and Strank never left Iwo Jima alive. They died in combat days after the flag raising, unaware they would become American icons.

Survivors Gagnon, Hayes, and Bradley returned home as reluctant celebrities, and they toured America promoting war bonds while grieving fallen friends.

From Photograph to Monument

Felix de Weldon first saw Rosenthal’s photograph while serving in the Navy at Patuxent River Naval Air Station.

The Vienna-born sculptor couldn’t stop thinking about it, and he spent one weekend shaping a small model of the scene.

His hands worked quickly, trying to capture the raw power of that moment. Congress recognized the potential in 1951 and commissioned a full-scale memorial. De Weldon spent three years crafting a massive plaster model.

Immortalizing the Six Marines

The three Marines who survived the battle posed for Weldon. He studied their faces, their hands, the way they moved. For the three Marines who died on Iwo Jima, he worked from photographs, honoring men he would never meet.

The Massive Bronze Achievement

Each bronze figure stretches 32 feet tall, and the workers cast the sculpture in 108 separate pieces. When cooled and finished, three trucks carried the pieces from New York to Virginia.

By the end, the Marines push upward on a 60-foot flagpole, muscles straining against gravity and history.

A Monument Built to Last

Swedish granite forms the base of this American tribute, and the black diabase stretches 10 feet high and weighs 700 tons.

Gold letters circle the base, listing every major Marine battle from 1775 to the present.

In 2018, workers added Afghanistan and Iraq to this solemn timeline. Admiral Chester Nimitz’s words shine in gold: “Uncommon valor was a common virtue,” which he said about the Marines at Iwo Jima.

Below that, the Marine Corps motto “Semper Fidelis” reminds visitors of the Corps’ promise: Always Faithful.

A Labor of Love from Veterans and the Community

No government money built this monument.

Instead, marines, sailors, and their supporters donated all $850,000 for construction.

November 10, 1954 marked the dedication, and this date—the Marine Corps’ 179th birthday—was no accident.

Exactly nine years earlier, Marines had landed on Iwo Jima’s black sand beaches. General Lemuel Shepherd, Marine Corps Commandant, turned the first shovel of earth. He had commanded the 6th Marine Division in the Pacific during the war.

The Flag That Never Comes Down

President Kennedy changed the memorial forever on June 12, 1961. His proclamation ordered the American flag to fly there 24 hours a day, when most American flags come down at sunset.

This one flies through darkness, rain, and winter cold. During fair weather, a standard flag catches the breeze. When storms approach, workers replace it with a smaller storm flag following traditional protocol.

In 1945, the American flag had 48 stars. Today’s flag has 50. The memorial always flies the current flag, linking past and present.

The Sunset Parade Tradition

Summer evenings bring special magic to the memorial. Every Tuesday, Marines march in ceremonial dress uniform as the sun sets. The tradition began in 1956, just two years after the memorial’s dedication.

What started as a simple guard-mounting ceremony evolved into an elaborate display.

“The Commandant’s Own” Marine Drum and Bugle Corps performs first, then eighty Marines in red and white uniforms play music that echoes off the monument.

Then comes the Silent Drill Platoon. Twenty-four Marines execute precise movements with 10-pound M1 rifles.

No commands are spoken. No mistakes are made. They toss bayonet-tipped rifles between them as the sky darkens.

The memorial’s floodlights catch the gleam of polished brass and steel.

A Recent Restoration

Time and weather take their toll on even the strongest monuments. By 2015, the memorial needed help, and David Rubenstein stepped forward with a $5.37 million donation.

The businessman made his gift to honor his father, who served as a Marine in the Pacific during World War II.

Work began in 2017, and it became the first complete restoration since 1954. Conservators cleaned and waxed the bronze figures, sealed seams, and re-gilded inscriptions.

During restoration, craftsmen added Afghanistan and Iraq to the battle list on the base, linking new generations of Marines to their predecessors.

Replicas Around America

The original stands in Arlington, but smaller versions keep watch elsewhere. Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia hosts one replica, while another guards Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kāne’ohe Bay.

A third, made of steel at one-third scale, stands at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina, a site where new Marines are made.

At Parris Island, after the brutal 54-hour Crucible test that ends recruit training, exhausted trainees hike 9 miles to the statue at dawn.

There, as the sun rises and the flag goes up, drill instructors award them the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor emblem.

In that moment, recruits officially become Marines.

Visiting U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial

The memorial sits near Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

Gates open daily from 6 a.m. to midnight year-round. No tickets or reservations needed.

Take the Metro to Rosslyn or Arlington National Cemetery stations. From either station, walk about 10-15 minutes to reach the memorial.

The site offers panoramic views of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and U.S. Capitol across the river.

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