On the 179th birthday of the Corps (November 10, 1954), a 78 feet tall bronze monument was unveiled near Arlington National Cemetery. The monument, depicting the flag raising on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, was dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower "in honor and memory of the men of the United States Marine Corps who have given their lives since November 10, 1775." Those words are burnished in gold on the base of the Marine Corps War Memorial, frequently called the Iwo Jima Monument...the site of the Sunset Parade.
Also inscribed on the granite base, which supports the six 32-foot figures, are the names and dates of every major campaign and battle the Marines have fought since the founding of the Corps...New Providence Island, Tripoli, Vera Cruz, Bull Run, Manila Bay, Belleau Wood, Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Chosin Reservoir, Vietnam, Lebanon, Grenada, and the Persian Gulf War just to name a few.
Many engagements are listed, but it's Iwo Jima- the costliest battle in Marine Corps history, that the monument depicts. It is symbolic of the courage displayed by the Marines who fought there. Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, World War II commander of the Pacific Fleet, said of these heroic Marines, "Uncommon valor was a common virtue." These immortal words are also engraved on the base of the memorial.
Interested in the Battle of Iwo Jima?
Purchase the amazing Marine Corps video RED BLOOD, BLACK SAND. This doctumentary chronicles the bloody battle of Iwo Jima adding interviews from Marine Corps soldiers of the battle.
The film critic of the Washington Post has named this Marine Corps video the best documentary of WW II."
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The Sunset Parade (DVD)