Bob Hudson Posted July 12, 2008 Share #1 Posted July 12, 2008 This week for the first time since about 1960 I had a chance to visit the Marine Corps Memorial across the river from Washington DC. near the Arlington National Cemetery. I just had no memory of the scale of the statue of the Marines and Navy Corpsman raising the flag at Iwo Jima. My nine-year-old was also amazed, and said he expected them to be life-sized. In fact the figures are 32 feet tall and the flag is 60 feet tall! Felix Weihs de Weldon apparently spent something like nine years creating this massive tribute and it becomes all the more amazing that you consider he had to take a one-dimensional photograph and create a 3-D object. The detail is incredible and I have included some closeups of the faces, hands and gear to give you can idea of what he did. If you have never seen this, be sure to put it on your must see list in Washington DC. It's easy to get to and in late afternoon parking is easily available ("easy parking" and "Washington DC" normally never appear together). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted July 12, 2008 Author Share #2 Posted July 12, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Robinson Posted July 12, 2008 Share #3 Posted July 12, 2008 It's very impressive. I last saw it when I was in the 7th grade (1962) and in a scrapbook somewhere I got a photograph of it. When I spent some time working in Baltimore in 1999 I thought about driving to DC and wish now I had. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share #4 Posted July 13, 2008 It's very impressive. I last saw it when I was in the 7th grade (1962) and in a scrapbook somewhere I got a photograph of it. When I spent some time working in Baltimore in 1999 I thought about driving to DC and wish now I had. Greg As I said, for anyone who finds themself in the DC area, this is one of the easiest places to stop and visit. It is right next door to Arlington National Cemetery and across the river from the Lincoln Memorial (we circled that three times and never saw parking within a mile). To give you another idea of the scale, here's the satellite image from Google - notice the shadow on the left side of the monument: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Robinson Posted July 13, 2008 Share #5 Posted July 13, 2008 As I said, for anyone who finds themself in the DC area, this is one of the easiest places to stop and visit. And that's saying a lot. My last visit to DC was in 1970 and I well remember, even back then, the horrendous traffic. That city has never impressed me but I agree that all Americans owe it to themselves to see some of the sites. I'd like to see the Viet Nam Wall. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share #6 Posted July 13, 2008 Earlier in the day, we'd gone to Arlington Cemetery, another place I had not visited since about 1960. It is quite a moving experience just strolling through past the thousands of gravestones, reading the names and wondering about each of them. Some were noted as Medal of Honor recipients, some were the infant children of servicemen, some were the very famous such as JFK and the rows of Supreme Court justices buried near the JFK memorial. Then there were the legions of stones marking the graves of guys (mostly) who'd served the country for a short time and then gone back to their civilian lives, or in some cases you tell by the date of death and Purple Heart citation on the stone that they had died during a war. In addition to the miles of small identical headstones common at Arlington and other military cemeteries, there were several "custom" stones mostly named to officers, including lots of Admirals and Generals: "Paymaster of the Navy" one read. For me it was exciting (strange word to use in connection with a cemetery, but true) to walk around a bend and encounter this one. I often travel a street named after him here in Oceanside, California and I read WEB Griffith's book about Guadalcanal while flying to and from the East Coast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share #7 Posted July 13, 2008 I've posted photos of the impressive Army Sentinels at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...showtopic=23084 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobgee Posted July 13, 2008 Share #8 Posted July 13, 2008 Good stuff, Bob! great pics! I was there in 2006 - a hallowed place. semper Fi....Bobgee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted July 14, 2008 Share #9 Posted July 14, 2008 Very cool, gotta love the detail in that peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger Gunner USMC Posted July 17, 2008 Share #10 Posted July 17, 2008 I drove from St Louis to D.C. to see the Marine Corps Memorial on Memorial Day 2007. It is a Mecca for US Marines, and I was humbled to have the chance to be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccandgc Posted July 20, 2008 Share #11 Posted July 20, 2008 Im taking my dad on a tour soon to DC to see all the War Memorials....he is a 2 tour Vietnam vet(aviation ordnance on the Kitty Hawk) and he told me he wanted to go, well 1 month later was his b-day and I gave him a "free pass"! I owe him at least that much......I saw most of the War Memorials when I was in high school, didnt appreciate them as much as I do now, so Im glad we'll be going to see them all. Great pix, thanks for sharing.... chad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted July 20, 2008 Author Share #12 Posted July 20, 2008 Im taking my dad on a tour soon to DC to see all the War Memorials....he is a 2 tour Vietnam vet(aviation ordnance on the Kitty Hawk) and he told me he wanted to go, well 1 month later was his b-day and I gave him a "free pass"! I owe him at least that much......I saw most of the War Memorials when I was in high school, didnt appreciate them as much as I do now, so Im glad we'll be going to see them all.Great pix, thanks for sharing.... chad I'm a San Diegan too (actually Oceanside) and I will tell you that if you visit DC in the summer you will praise our San Diego climate when you get back! DC has a reputation as being a bad place to drive or park and honestly that's understating it: it might be worthwhile to check out the tourist buses that let you get on and off at various places and board the next bus from the same company when it comes alongs (all for one daily price). The Marine Corps Memorial and Arlington are car-friendly in that they actually have parking areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccandgc Posted July 20, 2008 Share #13 Posted July 20, 2008 Great! I love the weather here! Im born and raised in Hawaii, and short of the humidity, SD and Hawaii are similar, tho not as cold/hot extremes.... We're thinking of more towards fall-ish...dont know yet...thanks for the tips for the transport.... thanks! chad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC Saipan Posted December 8, 2014 Share #14 Posted December 8, 2014 very coooool i love this monument brave héros REST IN PEACE never forget your sacrifice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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