Richfield unveils statue of WWII hero Lindberg

The Associated Press - Friday, July 04, 2008

RICHFIELD, Minn.

The city of Richfield unveiled statue of WWII hero Chuck Lindberg as the centerpiece of a new city veterans memorial.

It's the culmination of three years of work.

The bronze image of Lindberg towers 15 feet high, emerging from the side of a triangular 10-ton piece of dark gray taconite.

The Richfield resident died last year at age 86.

He was one of the Marines who raised the first American flag on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during World War II. He was awarded the Silver Star for bravery.

Lindberg spent decades explaining that it was his patrol, not the later one captured in the famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal, that raised the first flag over the island.

Ellie