Marine Corps War Memorial

By 2018 the restoration of the Marine Corps War Memorial, funded by David Rubenstein, was completed. The project restored the monument’s visual prominence and ensured structural and aesthetic upkeep of this national symbol.

On April 29, 2015, philanthropist David Rubenstein pledged $5.37 million to refurbish the Marine Corps War Memorial. The funds provided for cleaning, waxing, regilding of inscriptions, landscaping, and repairs to lighting, flagpole, and paving—the first comprehensive restoration since its dedication.

In 1982, the name of Joe Rosenthal, whose photograph inspired the memorial, was added to the bottom left of the front base of the Marine Corps War Memorial, recognizing his contribution to its origin.

On June 12, 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued a proclamation that the U.S. flag would fly 24 hours a day over the Marine Corps War Memorial. This made the memorial one of the few sites in the United States required to display the flag continuously.

In 1955 the stewardship of the Marine Corps War Memorial was transferred from the Marine Corps Memorial Foundation to the National Park Service, ensuring its preservation and maintenance as part of the public national park system.

The Marine Corps War Memorial was officially dedicated on November 10, 1954, the 179th anniversary of the founding of the Marine Corps. President Dwight D. Eisenhower presided over the ceremony, with Vice President Nixon and other military leaders participating.

Photographs from September 16, 1954, show the Marine Corps War Memorial under construction in Arlington, Virginia. The bronze figures had been cast and were being assembled on site near Arlington National Cemetery.

On February 19, 1954, exactly nine years after the Marines landed on Iwo Jima, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Marine Corps War Memorial took place. General Lemuel C. Shepherd, 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps, presided over the event marking the start of construction.

In 1951 the United States Congress approved the concept for the Marine Corps War Memorial and the Marine Corps League selected sculptor Felix W. de Weldon to design it. De Weldon, along with architect Horace Peaslee, moved forward to create the monumental sculpture based on Rosenthal’s photograph.

In 1947 a federal foundation was established to raise funds for the Marine Corps War Memorial. This initiative laid the groundwork to finance construction through private donations, primarily from Marines, reservists, former Marines, and friends of the Corps.

Joe Rosenthal’s photograph of the flag-raising on Mount Suribachi quickly became iconic and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. The image became one of the most reproduced photographs of the 20th century and galvanized public sentiment during the war.

During the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II, U.S. Marines raised a larger American flag atop Mount Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima. The moment was famously captured by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, producing an iconic image that came to symbolize American resolve in the Pacific theater. This photograph later inspired the Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture in Arlington, Virginia.