US Grant
06-07-03, 08:05 AM
He was not a Marine, yet every Marine knows his work and is proud of what he did this was on the AP today I figured I'd past this along.
Felix de Weldon
MOUNT JACKSON, Va. (AP) -- Felix de Weldon, an Austrian-born sculptor best known for his statue of Marines raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima, died Tuesday, family members said. He was 96.
De Weldon emigrated to the United States and during World War II served in the Navy's artist corps.
While stationed in Maryland, he saw Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal's famous picture of the flag-raising on Mount Suribachi during the battle for Iwo Jima, and was inspired to create a sculpture based on the photo.
De Weldon showed a table-size clay version of the statue to President Truman in 1945 and was later commissioned by Congress to recreate the statue in bronze for the Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington.
Felix de Weldon
MOUNT JACKSON, Va. (AP) -- Felix de Weldon, an Austrian-born sculptor best known for his statue of Marines raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima, died Tuesday, family members said. He was 96.
De Weldon emigrated to the United States and during World War II served in the Navy's artist corps.
While stationed in Maryland, he saw Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal's famous picture of the flag-raising on Mount Suribachi during the battle for Iwo Jima, and was inspired to create a sculpture based on the photo.
De Weldon showed a table-size clay version of the statue to President Truman in 1945 and was later commissioned by Congress to recreate the statue in bronze for the Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington.